


Ghost Chronicles

by SZRS



Series: Archival Realm's [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Attempted Suicide, LGBT characters, Multi, Other, dark themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-03-14 15:25:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 48,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13592949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SZRS/pseuds/SZRS
Summary: A story about my original RWBY characters Team GHOST.Grey AshHelen IvoryOren CoquelicotSamuel RustThane CarmineThe only 5 person team in the history of the academies.  Each of them has their own dark past and unresolved issues.  All of this comes to a head when Beacon Academy is destroyed.   They embark on a mission that starts off as a quest to eliminate the allies of Cinder, but quickly spins out of control.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is my own original work which was originally posted on Fanfiction.net Under my profile (SIZZERZ). https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12018407/1/GHOST-Chronicles (this is the link to my fanfiction as proof its my own work). There are probably a few more typos on the fanfiction.net version since i can review these documents as i post them here.
> 
> This story takes place after the events of Volume 3, so if you have not seen it yet there will be some spoilers. This is my first fanfiction. I am also aspiring to write my own original books, so critique (and i do mean REAL critique) is welcome. I plan on having more fanfiction in many different areas. 
> 
> Also dont think too much of the character Hopper... Yet

Chapter 1:

They sky was lit with orange light as the sun began to set, and the shattered moon, to rise. It was at this time that Team GHOST decided to make their camp. They put down the kickstands on their motorcycles and set up their tents, before lighting the campfire.

It was Sam who broke the Silence. Sam was a tall noticeably buff man with no hair, and skin as black as pitch. He wore a rusty brown leather trench coat, black jeans and a rusty brown top hat. When he spoke it was a with a thick accent.

"Yo Oren, you excited? After all you been preaching this mission to our headmaster for a solid year"

Oren, was of average height, and, while not as buff as Sam, was still fit and muscular. He rarely smiled, and was more prone to wearing a scowl on his face. He wore a black button down shirt that was buttoned and a sleeveless orange denim jacket with a hood over it, with cargo pants that could be unzipped just above the knee to turn them into shorts, black aviator shades, two fingerless black leather gloves and black boots and a bandana with the image of a skull tied around his neck. He was known for being intelligent (in fact he was considered the strategist of team GHOST) and would often be absorbed in his own thoughts, however these last couple months were different, when you venture out of the safety of the kingdoms, you must be ever vigilant.  (At least according to the Bombastic Professor Peter Port)

"Technically Sam, I've been preaching to that useless council for a year, Ozpin was all for it. It's not his fault we had to go through politics to get this particular mission approved." Replied Oren.

"That wasn't an answer, we are only 5 weeks from Vale. Then you can report your findings to Ozpin and the Council." Said Sam

Suddenly a new voice broke the silence.

"The Vytal festival is sometime soon right? We might even make it back for that."

The voice was that of Thane. A smaller man with carrot orange hair, he spoke with an accented, Lighter voice. He wore a maroon shirt, and pants. He wore a grey wool vest over his shirt and a black newsboy cap on his head.

"Ya," continued Sam "you might get to see those friends of yours compete in the tournament. You said they were going to Beacon this year right? You even said one of them was accepted two years early, just like you."

"Not quite like our Oren, after all, his friend isn't part of the only five-man team in Beacons history." Replied Thane.

But Oren was ignoring Thane, and Sam. He was getting a heavy feeling in his chest. He called over the last two members Helen and their leader Grey. Helen was a faunus with bat ears on her head with a couple fangs, she had pale skin and long black hair, she wore a white tank top with black jeans. Grey was tall, and gaunt with white hair that grew down over his eyes. He had a sunken look in his eyes, and wore a white T-shirt that was grayed from years of wear and use, and jeans that had holes ripped in several places.

"What's the matter Oren?" asked Helen.

You guys feel that?" Said Oren?

"I've been feeling something. Getting worse and worse." Replied Helen

By this time Thane and Sam had shut up.

"Hey Grey, think you could hear anything?" inquired Oren.

"I'll have a listen." Their leader said. Grey closed his eyes and focused, both Helen and Oren did the same.

"Yes I can hear something faint…... It sounds like screams," His eyes shot open. "It's coming from Vale."

Helen responded. "I feel fear and panic. Something bad is happening back home."

This prompted a panicked discussion between Helen Thane and Sam, trying to decide what to do. There were a good three minutes before Oren spoke up again.

"Grey," and the sound of his voice silenced the camp. Oren was the most intelligent person and the team, and was their strategist. The rest of the team learned to listen when he spoke.

"Yes Oren?" responded Grey.

"I would suggest we pick up our pace."

"…. Then let's ride. Everyone pack up the camp, we're travelling through the night until we get back."

As they rushed to pack up camp, a single Beowulf emerged from the trees, probably drawn to the initial panic. Oren got up and calmly approached him. It swung at Oren, who deflected it with his arm, spinning the Beowulf around. Now behind it, he kicked it in the back of one of its legs, bringing it to its knees. He then wrapped his arms around its neck, and snapped it. By the time he finished it, his team was done packing the camp. So he stomped out the fire, got on his chopper and they all rode straight for vale.

Team Ghost had been travelling non-stop for about 2 weeks, but were still 3 weeks from their destination. They had pulled over to rest and recover. When Helen decided to try and have a conversation with Oren.

"I got a question for you" She said

"and what's that?" asked Oren

"You can sense emotions the same way I can. But mine is connected to my semblance. We've all seen your semblance, so I know yours and mine are not the same. So where do you get the ability to sense emotions?"

Oren's face darkened. "I don't wanna talk about it"

"You know…. At times like this… when your angry, I can feel something… different inside you. It's in you, but it doesn't feel like part of you."

"Do me a favor, if you have a question, and you think it relates to my past in any way, then drop it."

"Fine, OK I get it. You have this dark troubled past that you don't like to talk about. But seriously there are some things you need to move past and you'll only be able to do that by sharing your burden with others. If you don't wanna tell me because you're my friend, tell me because it's the tactical thing to do. If anything in your past is any danger to us, then we have a right to know about it."

"…. I will tell you one thing about my past then. To get you to shut up. I'm only gonna say this once and its important so listen up."

At that, Helen's ears perked up. She guessed she'd struck a nerve, because Oren had never, NEVER, talked about his past at all.

Oren was careful not to reveal too much, but even still he wasn't sure why he was revealing as much as he was.  Some feeling in his gut told him that things were picking up.

"I once made a vow to someone… Important to me. I will never kill another living creature. And before you ask, Grimm don't have souls, so they don't count. I have always held myself accountable to this promise, I've been able to control myself for years and years. But, that thing you sense inside me, well let's just say that if I get angry enough then I will, in the most literal way possible, lose control of myself. So promise me something. After some thought I think your semblance is best suited to keep me under control, if I should fail. So promise me, that if I ever lose control, and become unable to hold myself to that vow I was talking about, that you will bring me under control. And don't make this promise unless you know you can keep it."

"You've…. lost it before?"

"Yes."

"and how bad is it?"

"…Bad"

For the first time in the Team's 4 years at Beacon, she feared her teammate, but not because of what could happen, but because of what could have possibly already happened to him.

"I reserve the right to tell the rest of the team if you lose control."

"That's fine, because if I lose control there will be no need to keep secrets anymore"

"Then I promise, to help you keep your vow, and bring you to heel if you lose control."

"Thank..." but his words were cut short as a scream cut through the air. They ran back to the group and found Grey on his knees, clutching his head and screaming in agony. Suddenly Oren also fell to his knees, as a horrible burning feeling ran through his heart, swiftly he was followed by Helen.

"Sam…Thane…this…will…pass. Defend…. Us." Were the words that Oren managed to choke out through the pain. Thankfully Sam and Thane understood his meaning. The screams of pain had started drawing the attention of the Grimm. Sam drew his Bolo machete, and Thane drew his chimney brush. They charged at the Grimm. Every time the Grimm struck at them, Thane evaporated into smoke, and Sam melted into shadows, reappearing elsewhere. It was 10 long grueling minutes before the pain faded.

"That came from Vale" said Helen

"Something really bad is happening," Said Oren "Helen check your scroll, try to call Ozpin, Glynda, anyone."

"I can't call anyone but I'm getting a video feed. Grimm are attacking the city."

"WHAT" shouted Oren in rage.

"Helen, take some fire dust crystals and overcharge the bikes, Oren Help me, we are ditching anything non-essential, the tents the camping gear all of it. We can always get more later anyway. Thane, Sam, get over here we are leaving. No more resting, we don't stop until we reach Vale and see what is going on. Helen, make sure you keep an eye on that scroll, we need to know what's happening. LET'S RIDE."

A few hours later, Helen lost the signal on her scroll.

"You don't think something happened to the CCTS do you?" shouted Helen.

"I don't think it," said Oren, "I Guarantee it. Things are worse than we thought."

"Let's pick up the pace guys, push your bike until it falls apart, we need to be back at Beacon yesterday." Shouted Grey

They rode with such speed and intensity that what normally would have been a 3-week journey was made in 7 days. They finally stopped when the top of Beacon tower came into view. They were on a ridge a fair distance away, overlooking the school. Thane pulled out some binoculars and started scouting it out and relaying information.

"The top of the tower is destroyed, in fact so is most of the building, but that's not the weirdest thing. There is some giant Dragon Grimm frozen on the tower."

"What do you mean "" Frozen""?" Asked Grey.

"I mean he aint moving at all. I would say he was dead if Grimm bodies didn't evaporate. Not to mention Gravity should have pulled him down to earth by now. Regardless he seems to be drawing more Grimm to the school. It's completely Overrun."

"We need a place to regroup. Find out what's happening. Oren, any suggestions?" said Grey

"The guy who raised me was one of Ozpin's inner circle. He will know what's going on." Oren replied.

"And how do we find him?"

"HA god knows, he is so deep in Ozpin's inner circle that he often disappears on longer missions than ours, with almost zero contact. The easiest way would be to find the rest of his family. His sister bugged out years ago and is even harder to find then he is, so we will have to go with his brother in law. Go to the island of Patch, find Taiyang's house. If you need directions then ask around, it's one of those small communities where everybody knows everybody so it shouldn't be too hard. I'll meet you there."

"and where are you going?" asked Helen.

"I'm gonna do some scouting, find out what the hell happened to my school."

"I suppose that if I order you not to go you'll ignore me?" asked Grey.

"you won't order me to stay."

"what makes you say that?"

"because I'm your strategist. You respect my outlook for a reason."

"you raise an excellent point. You've never steered us wrong before, so If you think strategically that this is the best move. Go for it."

"thanks. By the way, to answer your question, yeah I would've ignored you if you ordered me to stay."

"quit teasing and get gone dude."

"later guys, see ya on the flip side."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Team GHOST meets Oren's family, Helen has a run in with one of Oren's cousins and Oren returns from scouting.

"Look, I hate to complain" Said Thane.

"No you don't" Retorted Helen.

"…No I don't, but why did we come to patch by airship instead of trying that new feature on our bikes?"

"It's still in the prototype stage, we don't have time to fiddle with our bikes to make adjustments if something goes wrong." Explained Grey.

"True, but I get the feeling that we aren't gonna be able to test that much for a while"

"you think Oren's ok?" Asked Helen.

"Oren is the smartest one of us, and is easily one of our most powerful fighters. While you two," He said looking at Thane and Sam, "are better suited for stealth and subterfuge, Oren is almost designed to fight hordes of enemies at a time, like me. I'm sure he's fine, he'll probably show up one or two days after us."

After arriving on patch. Team GHOST asked someone nearby for directions. They rode their bikes to a cabin in the woods nearby to a cliff. It was close enough to a town to not be completely secluded, but far enough away for whoever lived there to maintain a level of privacy. Grey knocked on the door, and was promptly greeted by a man with hair the color of sunlight. Upon seeing them, the man got quite a quizzical look on his face. Grey couldn't really blame him; they were quite an unusual sight even without the motorbikes.

"can I help you?" the man asked.

"Are you Taiyang Xiao Long?" asked Grey

"Yeeea, why?"

"we are 4th year students at beacon. We are on a team with Oren."

"Oh You must be team GHOST. Oren used to write all the time, and Ozpin has mentioned you a couple times. He holds you in very high esteem." Taiyang said, now much less skeptical.

"Ehem thanks. Can we come in? we just got back from a mission and have some questions about what happened while we were gone."

"ya, I'll bet. Come on in, I'll make some tea."

They made their way into the cabin, and sat down in the living room and a few minutes later Taiyang showed up with some tea for everyone.

"So where is Oren?" He asked.

"He stayed behind to scout out Beacon, told us to look for the guy who raised him." Said Grey

"That'll be Qrow. He's been disappearing quite a bit recently… so you guys have seen Beacon then?"

Grey heaved a long heavy sigh before saying "… yeah. So Qrow's not here now?"

"no."

"Can you answer some of our questions then?"

"I... I'll do my best."

And so Taiyang recounted it all. The initial Grimm attack caused by a train crash from a sealed subway, how his daughter Yang broke somebody's leg during the tournament, and how the very next day the shock and panic caused by witnessing a student kill a robot huntress in the tournament caused a massive invasion of Grimm. He told how the white fang started releasing Grimm in Beacon, how their leader cut off his daughter's' arm, and how someone hacked Atlas's tech, turning an army of robots on the huntsmen and citizens. Finally, he told of the Dragon Grimm and how it just spawned more Grimm and the battle between the ones called Pyrrha and Cinder on top of Beacon tower, how Cinder killed Pyrrha and somehow his other daughter named Ruby froze the dragon on top of the tower.

"Oren ain't gonna be happy" Said Sam "they're weaponizing Grimm? That's messed up."

"The fact that the Communication Tower is down, that means the whole CCTS is down. All global communication has been cut off." Said Helen

"And Ozpin's missing!? I've seen the man fight, what the hell could've beat him?" asked Thane

"… Our tactician is gonna have his work cut out for him when he gets back." Said Grey.

"Listen any friends of my family, is family to me. You guys are welcome to stay until you plan your next move."

While Grey and Taiyang discussed sleeping arrangements, Helen went to find the restroom. She had just cleaned herself up and was about to walk downstairs when she… felt, something in the next room. She knocked on the door.

"come in." said a tired voice.

She opened, and laying on the bed, staring out the window was a girl. The girl was Missing one of her arms. Eventually after a minute of silence the girl turned and saw Helen for the first time.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"My name is Helen, you must be Yang, I've heard a lot about you."

"The arm gives it away right?"

Helen could feel the sadness and weariness in Yang's heart, she decided she had to help somehow, even if it was just a little bit.

"actually I've heard a lot about you from Oren. He is on my team at Beacon."

At this Yang's feelings changed slightly, from pure depression to curiosity with hints of joy and excitement. She knew she couldn't heal Yang, or force her to heal. She had to figure out a way to motivate her to heal herself. She was trying to decide how to go about doing this, when the voice of Grey spoke in her head.

" _Let me help_ " he said. Suddenly Helen's head was filled with memories that were not her own, she assumed they must be Yang's. Suddenly Helen knew how to motivate Yang…. She had to piss her off.

"Though you seem a bit different than what he described."

"What do you mean?"

"He said you were fiery, optimistic and strong. The words he said were ""Doesn't let anything stand in her way"". Yet I find you laying here after your first real injury, wallowing in self-pity." There it was. That initial spark of anger. It was working.

"Excuse me?"

"Hey I mean don't worry about it. Nobody's perfect. Oren must have just been wrong. I mean if he were here he would probably talk about how good mechanical limbs are nowadays and that you shouldn't be whining about losing something that can easily be replaced." Helen could feel the spark growing and growing.

"I don't think you understand what's been happening around here," Started Yang

"I don't think I need to," cut in Helen "all I need to know is that you don't care about you sister, father or friends anymore."

"How dare you! Of course I do!"

"Then why are you laying here feeling sorry for yourself instead of training to better protect them. That missing arm of yours isn't a reason to quit. It means you're not strong enough. What do you do when you're not strong enough? Get stronger. Get stronger so it doesn't happen to you or more importantly any of your loved ones, ever again. Cause all your doing right now is making the people who care about you sad and worried. I find that to be just plain selfish.  And i know that you have other baggage that's bugging you, not just the arm.  But right now your not dealing with any of it at all.  You're just sitting here letting it consume you.  You are the only person that can help you, but i cant force you to want to." That spark she could feel inside Yang finally exploded into a brilliant flame.

"…Thank you." Said Yang.

"Don't thank me. I copied that speech from Oren. Got stabbed in the gut pretty bad by a death-stalker in my second year. I just stopped wanting to function for a while. He snapped me out of it."

"Ya that sounds like something he would do. What else did he say?"

"He said it would be hard at first, but you have to remember that in this line of work, it's never about you. That's why you should share your burdens, because if you try to shut out all the people who care about you, then you break."

"He should follow his own advice then."

"You noticed that too huh?"

"how could I not?"

"So what now?"

"I guess I got to get stronger."

"That's the spirit! You need anything then team GHOST is happy to help."

"Thanks"

With that she went back downstairs. The voice of Grey appeared in her head again.

" _I thought you were trying to get her angry?_ " He asked.

" _Not angry at me, angry at herself. Her heart needs healing, but she is the only one who can heal it.  At least now she has the motivation to start examining her problems and hopefully find ways to deal with them.  Thats the first step right? acknowledging the problem_."

When she came back into the living room Grey gave her a nod of approval. Eventually they went to sleep. Grey stayed in the guest room, Helen in Ruby's room (apparently she wasn't home at the moment), while Thane and Sam had a chair and couch in the living room. Eventually a thunderstorm had started and rain was pouring down. Grey woke with a start, and immediately woke up the rest of the house including Yang and Taiyang. He never spoke when they asked him what was wrong, he merely led them to the front door and opened it. Standing in the rain were two figures. One was recognizable as Glynda Goodwitch a professor at Beacon. The other was clearly Oren, but it looked like he was holding a body. Then the face of the person he was carrying came into view.

"NO!" shouted Helen who immediately took off towards Oren. Oren put the body on the floor as Helen started cradling it and crying.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oren scouts out Beacon Academy. He is less than pleased about what he finds.

After the rest of team GHOST rode off, Oren was left alone looking at Beacon tower from afar. He rode a little bit closer then hid his chopper in a bush. He slowly started approaching the tower when he heard a voice.

"Are we going to try out your new theory?" it asked. It spoke with just a slightly higher pitch, thin but noticeable accent. Although Grey's semblance was telepathy, Oren knew this was not Grey. This voice was one that Oren had known for a far longer time.

"I would rather go with something we know is effective. This situation is too intense to take risks."

"Does that mean I get to drive?"

"Only for this mission, remember who's in charge."

"What are my orders?"

"Scout out the Beacon school, recover any survivors or bodies you find, we are looking for Intel."

"Understood"

Oren closed his eyes and allowed the voice into his mind and heart, and with that he just strolled into Beacon. Some of the Grimm gave him quizzical looks, but in the end they all ignored him. He explored all of the ground floor and found nothing useful, he guessed that perhaps the Grimm had consumed the bodies already. After exploring he then followed the feelings of sorrow emanating from certain locations, he went to the top of beacon tower where the dragon Grimm was frozen. He touched it a couple times and there was no response.

"I feel like I've seen this sort of thing before"

"But you don't remember do you"

"No…"

"That figures. Are we done?"

"No I can feel something else."

"Lead on"

He took the elevator shaft back down but this time instead of getting off at ground floor, he kept going down. They emerged in a large underground room. He figured the Grimm couldn't get down here because the room was empty.

"I never knew this place existed."

"I can feel it, this is where Ozpin last was. He fought here."

"Any idea what happened to him?"

"No"

They continued into the room and found some things at the end that looked like pods. They saw a body in one of the pods. Upon seeing her face Oren's hairs began to stand on end.

"You know her?"

"Her name's Amber. She is… was dating Helen. She was so friendly with all of us she was practically part of our team. We have to bring her body back at least."

Oren hefted her body over his shoulder.

"Anything else?"

"No, we're done here. Get back to the chopper and I'll take over from there."

When he got back up to the main floor, he took some curtains and wrapped them around Amber's corpse. Once Oren got back to his bike he allowed that voice to leave the front of his mind and heart. He pushed a button, the bike transformed into a two-seat, so he secured the body In the back and took off toward the main city. They were on their way to the docks to find a boat or even better and airship when the voice stopped him.

"I can sense someone nearby, someone who will have answers. You should get them to come with us."

Following the voices guidance, he was led straight to none other than Glynda Goodwitch. When he remembered the vault beneath the school and the voice saying she had answers it didn't take long to put two and two together.

"Oren. I thought team GHOST wasn't scheduled to be back for another two weeks." She said

"We felt the disturbance, and got the last broadcast from the CCTS. We rushed back as fast as we could."

"Well I wish I could welcome you back under happier circumstances…. What's wrong?"

Oren pulled back part of the curtains cloth. At the sight of Amber, Glynda's face fell.

"Oren… You need to understand," She started, but Oren cut her off.

"You're coming with me, I think you owe me and my team some answers."

Luckily, Glynda was able to charter a private flight to Patch so they could arrive that night. Oren was silent the entire way. When they got to patch, he didn't need to ask directions, he just knew the way. It was late night when it started to rain. In a flash of lightning he could see the cabin. So he shouted as loud as he could in his mind.

"GREY!"

A few moments later he heard Grey's voice in his head.

"Geez dude, you scared the crap out of me. Wassup?"

"I can see the cabin, I'm almost there. I'm here with Glynda, and… Amber."

"Amber?"

"She's… dead."

"…Well meet you outside."

They got to within ten yards of the cabin when the door opened. Oren uncovered Amber's face and suddenly heard a loud cry.

"NO!" suddenly Helen came running towards Oren. Oren put the corpse on the ground as Helen started cradling it and crying. Oren walked straight up to Grey and said.

"We have much to discuss in the morning."

"What about her?" asked Sam nodding towards Helen.

"Sam stay with her, give her a few minutes then bring her and Amber inside. Thane, could you do a quick sweep to see if there are any Grimm in the area? Oren, get some rest, we can discuss this in the morning." Said Grey.

On his way into the house, both Yang and Taiyang gave him a great big hug. When Oren saw that Yang was missing an arm, a new wave of grief swept over him. He was about to ask what happened, but decided against it. Too much had happened today, he would have his answers tomorrow morning. He went inside and passed out on the couch.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The gang generates a new battle plan and prepares for their next move.

When morning came, everyone was slow to rise. Taiyang made everyone some coffee. Oren was the first to speak.

"Glynda. I would appreciate if you would explain why I found Ambers corpse in a life support pod in a hidden vault under the school."

And so Glynda told them about the Maidens and about Cinder Fall her accomplices, and her alliance with the White Fang. How they infiltrated the school, and hacked the CCTS. All the holes that were empty were soon filled.

"We aint stupid. Amber is dead and you're trying to BS us with this fairytale nonsense," Started Thane, who was promptly cut off by Helen.

"she's telling the truth. There is no deception in her heart." She said in a tired voice. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying.

"Not to mention that I can read minds. She was kind enough to share her memories of these events with me." Chimed in Grey.

"I don't get it." Said Oren. "Their plan was brilliant. They did everything right, but it seems like overkill if their goal was just the Fall Maidens power. That whole monologue intended to cause world panic, and shutting down the CCTS certainly didn't need to happen."

"what do you mean?" asked Yang.

"Their end goal couldn't have just been the Fall Maidens power. They caused international panic, shut down all communications, and weaponized Grimm. The only end goal I keep coming back to is…"

"What… what is it?" asked Sam.

"…Genocide. The complete and total annihilation of every human and faunus on the planet. But how could they be dumb enough to make that their end goal? For what purpose? This Cinder person has demonstrated they are at least as smart as I am. These people are not terrorists, they are enemy soldiers. People keep saying we are at a time of peace, but we aren't, because Cinder and the White Fang are fighting a war with us, whether we know it or not." Said Oren (who sometimes had a tendency to think out loud.)

"So what do we do?" asked Helen

"I need to go out and think. I'm gonna buy some stuff from town, be right back." Said Oren, who abruptly got up and left.

"Well," Continued Glynda "I think we should find Ozpin. He has been missing ever since the Battle."

"Shouldn't we just assume he is dead?" said Sam

"There was no body"

"I'm told Cinder dissolved Pyrrha's body, she could have done the same with him." Said Helen.

"When she died, her weapons and even her circlet was left behind."

"Didn't Qrow find Ozpin's cane?" asked Thane

"yes but not in the vault where his fight took place."

"Normally don't we just assume Grimm eat the bodies, that's why there aren't any?" asked Helen.4

"You heard Oren, there were no Grimm in the vault."

"Then he has been captured." Said Grey.

"Impossible, he…" Started Glynda

"Glynda, if you would please be silent for a moment. If he is not dead, not eaten, not dissolved etc. then you must acknowledge that he has been captured. Unless you have a reason that he would disappear and not come back leaving his only weapon behind. It's like Oren said, they are fighting a war, and now they've captured one of our key players."

After thinking about it for a while Glynda had to admit that it seemed the only likely option.

"We can't go looking for Ozpin now. If the enemy is as smart as Oren said, then they are holding him in the middle of their home base, which we don't know the location of, with their most powerful soldiers guarding him with unknown traps. They have a maiden from a fairytale on their side so god knows what else they could have. We can't waste our time and energy to specifically looking for Ozpin, however we will most likely wind up hunting these guys down, if Ozpin is alive then we will surely pick him up along the way. I suggest we take one or two weeks to recuperate, resupply, and gather information. We will set off once we have a lead. Helen, you're our best mechanic can you work on the bikes? I think we're gonna need that new feature in the near future."

"Ya," said Helen "I'll be glad to have something to do."

"Thane and Sam, you two are our best at gathering intel. See what you can find out about our enemies."

"I have a friend in the shady part of Vale who knows a little something about something, I'll write down his address for you." Spoke up Yang.

"Much obliged Yang" said Thane

"We'll get right on that Grey." Said Sam

"I'll gather any supplies you need, and I'll leave it up to Oren to plot our next move. Yang, Glynda, Taiyang. You are not on my team, so I cannot order you around. All I can say is do whatever you wish. But first things first, tonight when Oren gets back…... we need to have a funeral for Amber."

It was a few hours before Oren returned. He showed up with a cart of large blocks of granite. And some slabs. Grey filled him in on the plan so far.

"Very well, I'll do my best based on whatever info our ""Shadows"" come up with. In the meantime, I'm gonna be working on some projects, it helps me think." He said.

Oren had a few things he had to clear up first, so he went to speak to Glynda.

"Grey told me about your theory on Ozpin. He's right. I found no evidence of death or bloodshed. I don't know how but he has been captured. You need to forget about him for the moment. If you want to do something useful, then either bring the CCTS back online or figure out a way to bring it back without Vales tower."

He left before she could respond and went to find Taiyang.

"Tai, somethings been bugging me. Where are Qrow and Ruby?" he asked.

Without speaking Taiyang pulled something out of his pocket, a small note written by Ruby.

"Haven huh, and Qrow?"

"He went to keep an eye on Ruby and her new team. But he might split off and follow his own leads eventually." Said Taiyang

"hmm if Qrow's tailing them then they'll be fine for a while. Them going to Haven is just one more lead we are already following. Better to spread out and cover more ground."

Finally, Oren approached Thane and Sam.

"You going to see that friend of Yang's?"

"Ya why?" asked Sam

Oren gave them an envelope.

"Give this to him when you see him. He should have a letter for me as well."

"You've met Yang's friend?" asked Sam

"I gave her his address in the first place. Guess you could say I introduced them, though I'm not sure he would thank me for that."

"Sure, why not. I got no problem being a mailman for a couple days." said Thane.

That night they buried Amber. They put her on the cliff side near Summer's grave marker.

For the next several days Oren completely occupied himself in his projects. He took his blocks of granite into the forest nearby. Oren used Grey's telepathy to borrow some memories for his projects. Eventually Thane and Sam returned with a letter for Oren from Junior (Yang's friend). He gathered his team together and told them his plan.

"We already have somebody following the lead in Haven. Based on information presented to me, Cinder could be plotting genocide and seeking potential allies for this goal. Junior has given me a lead on a particularly nasty group of people who would fit this description. We could limit our enemy's resources while also handling these characters which could also lead us to our enemy. Three birds with one stone. This lead would take us to Atlas. Any objections? No? Any questions?"

Helen thought she sensed a wave of anger or fear wash over Oren, but it passed as quickly as it had come. She dismissed it.

"What've you been working on?" asked Yang.

"Would you like to see?"

Oren led the group into the forest to a clearing by a small lake.

"How did you do this?" asked Yang

In the clearing were statues of Amber, Pyrrha, Penny, and Summer Rose.

"Grey supplied the memories borrower from you Yang, which I used to design the statues of Penny, Pyrrha and Summer. Obviously I already knew Amber."

"When did you learn statue carving?" asked Taiyang.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Responded Oren.

After a few minutes admiring the new statue garden Yang approached Oren.

"What do you want me to do?" she asked.

"Stay safe. Get better, Train."

"Don't tell me what to do as a friend, tell me what to do as a strategist."

"Fine. If you really want to help, then go find Ruby and tell her about what has transpired here. Alert her to the fact that she is no longer alone, and for god's sake if you find Qrow send that drunkard over to me, we have a lot to talk about."

That night before they left for Atlas, Helen confronted Oren in Private.

"Oren, every time you bring up this mission to Atlas I sense these feelings coming from you. I don't think you're being entirely truthful with us. We are your team, if you send us into danger based on a lie then how can we trust you. I've already lost Amber; I don't want to lose anyone else."

"Everything I have told you about my plan is true. The fact that it is personal for me changes nothing. The enemy either already knows of, or will soon find out about these people. And trust me, we do not want them joining forces. You should be glad. If we take these guys down, I might finally clear up all those mysteries about me. You may just get the answers you've been looking for."

And with that, they chartered a private airship to Atlas and set off.


	5. Schneeking up on Weiss

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team arrives in Atlas and attempts to get some local help.

"So how is Qrow related to you? Is he your dad?" Asked Helen.

"you have been pestering me the entire way here. We haven't even been in Atlas for two hours and I already wanna lie down for a year. Why are you so persistent?" Responded Oren.

"Because we've been on your team for four years and still don't anything about your childhood or where you come from."

"And you choose specifically to pester me? None of Team GHOST have ever talked about their past, including you. Why should i have to say anything?"

"Because this mission is about your past not ours."

"Fine. Ill answer your question but will you please give me some respite afterwards?"

"I Promise."

"Qrow adopted me. He and another huntress found me in the woods and took me in when I was eight. Qrow raised me and I grew up alongside Yang and Ruby. They aint my blood, but they are my family."

"so what happened to your blood family?"

"Touchy Subject."

"…Ok, I get it. You're not ready yet."

"Why do you care so much anyway?"

"Like you said, we aint blood, but we are family"

Oren was silent for a very long time before saying

"I know where we should start our investigation. One of Yang's teammates is from here, not to mention she is from a very well-known wealthy family who could potentially provide us with resources."

"Alright, cool. What family is she from?"

"She's a Schnee."

"Schnee like Schnee dust company, biggest producers of Dust on the planet Schnee?"

"That's them."

Team GHOST found itself in front of a huge, futuristic skyscraper. They walked inside, and found their way to an information desk. And a rather tired looking lady was sitting at the desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked

"We are here to speak to Mr. Schnee." Said Grey

"Do you have an appointment?"

"We are a huntsmen team and were hoping Mr. Schnee could answer some questions."

"Can I see some ID?"

Grey pulled out his scroll and showed her his Information. Thankfully, with the CCTS down only affecting communications, it worked just fine.

With that the receptionist's attitude changed a little.

"Unfortunately Mr. Schnee is not here, he is in some other part of Atlas on business."

"To be fair, it doesn't necessarily need to be Mr. Schnee. Any member of the Schnee family will do."

"Well his Daughter is here, and I don't believe she has any obligations."

"Perfect, we'll talk to her then."

"She'll be on the top floor. I'll let her know you're coming."

Team GHOST got into the elevator.

"So what do we know about Mr. Schnee's Daughter?" asked Grey

"Daughters plural. He has two. We could have two very different outcomes depending on which one awaits us." Said Thane

"His eldest, Winter, graduated from the Atlas huntsmen academy and joined the military, she works directly under General Ironwood. She could certainly provide resources, the problem being that our movements would be restricted or monitored given that she works for the Government. I know how much we tend to go our own way for stuff like this" Said Sam

"His second daughter is Weiss. She left Atlas and chose rather to attend our academy in Vale. She hasn't had her individuality destroyed by the Atlas education system, so she tends to think for herself more often." Continued Thane

"Neither of them have a particularly good relationship with their father. But Weiss seems to dislike him more. It is rumored among the high society that she chose Vale over Atlas to get away from him, and even wears her ponytail on the side of her head as a show of rebellion."

"Not to mention that Weiss was on a team with your Yang and Ruby, Oren."

Suddenly the door opened and they entered a large room with a huge desk in the center. A large window was overlooking atlas, staring out the window at the horizon was a young girl. She turned and when they saw her face, Thane said.

"That'll be Weiss."

"Greetings and welcome to the Schnee dust company headquarters. Normally I would give you a formal introduction, but judging by your conversation in the elevator, you already know about me and this company." Said Weiss

"You heard us?" asked Thane incredulously.

"World's biggest producers of dust and you don't think they have cameras in the elevators?" Said Oren

"You knew?" asked Weiss.

"I knew, just didn't care. Besides, it helped for you to see us in ""Privacy"" when we were being our most sincere and honest. Which means you already know why we're here?"

"I understand that you're here for an investigation and are looking for resources and information. I also know that your team GHOST, the only 5-person team in the history of the huntsmen academies. Your also considered to be the strongest team at Beacon since Ozpin himself attended."

"For someone who says we know too much about you, you certainly seem to know a lot about a school in a kingdom you weren't born in."

"I make it a point to learn as much as I can when I visit anywhere for an extended period of time."

"I think you just explained why we know so much about you"

"If you're trying to help with what happened at beacon then why aren't you in Vale?"

"It is not strategic to fight a battle that has already been lost."

"Ok wait, what exactly are you trying to accomplish?"

"Me and my team have come to the realization that we need to play this like we are fighting a war, key parts would be limiting enemy resources and allies. Glynda is attempting to bring communications back up and what remains of team JNPR, as well as your team leader, are following a lead on Cinder in Haven."

"If you have a lead in Haven, then why aren't you in Haven?"

"It would be more productive to spread out and limit the enemy's capabilities. Don't put all your eggs in one basket as they say. Besides, I've already sent Yang to alert Ruby of our operations. Once communications are restored then our jobs will get much easier."

"So what do you need from me?"

"Information, cooperation, and a place to stay if possible."

"And what makes you think I'll help you?"

"Because you want to get back at Cinder, because we have Ruby and Yang in common, because you want to annoy your father for forcibly removing you from your friends and sticking you in a cushy job as a glorified secretary. And because you want to know what's going on."

"….. Ill set you up in our guest quarters. You will stay with us until you are ready to leave."

"You can talk your father into that?"

"As I understand it your team, aside from fighting talent, specifically excels at gathering information. And since my father took over the company we have not exactly operated in the most ethical ways."

"You're going to blackmail him?"

"I am merely going to inform him that a team of huntsmen that is especially good at digging up dirt on their enemies will be staying with us, and that it would be in his best interest not to become one of those enemies. Come by later tonight, ill have the guest quarters prepared."

With that she got in the elevator and left.

"HAH, I like her spirit!" said Sam

"I'm just curious Oren, I don't think I've ever heard you talk so much. Since when do you handle our diplomacy?" asked Thane.

"Weiss was raised as the daughter of an incredibly wealthy CEO whose family owned the company for generations. She may or may not understand diplomacy, but she definitely understands business." Replied Oren.


	6. This is the life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first night in the Schnee Household

"So that's the mansion?" asked Thane

"I don't know, I can barely see it behind the giant wall, guard towers and fences." Replied Samuel

"They have an entire guerrilla, terrorist organization after them. Of course their home is gonna be heavily guarded" Said Oren.

Team GHOST Approached the main gate.

"State your business." Said the guard at the gate.

"We are huntsmen representatives of Beacon on an official investigation. Weiss told us to see her here." Said Grey

"Beacon? The academy that got..."

"YOU, might not want to finish that sentence." said Helen, cutting the guard off.

"Riiiight. Anyway, I'm gonna need some proof that Weiss asked you to come here, do you have some form of invitation?"

"Nope, but I'll bet a couple hundred lien that we won't need one." Said Oren

"Oh really? I'll take that bet."

Suddenly the guards scroll buzzed He picked it up and answered.

"Hello… Ms. Schnee? Are you sure? Yes, I understand," He put his scroll away, "Let them pass." He said

"I'll be sure to collect that lien from you later." Said Oren smugly to the guard, as Team Ghost shuffled through the gate towards the mansion.

"How did you know that Weiss would call the guard?" asked Thane.

"Part of being a strategist is just observation, as we were approaching the gate, I noticed a couple guards using their scrolls, to call other checkpoints most likely. Weiss invited us here, so it stands to reason she would be keeping an eye out for us. Especially since she knows our history as Team GHOST."

"How do you figure?"

"She's young, angry, and we're her best bet at getting revenge for Beacon."

They approached the mansion and were greeted by Weiss and her butler.

"Greetings, if you'll follow me I'll show you to your quarters." Said Weiss.

They followed her through the mansion, as she explained their arrangements. Everyone would have their own room, but they were going to be scattered throughout the house. This was Mr. Schnee's idea so that they couldn't "Plot" against him. Team GHOST was free to conduct its investigations but Mr. Schnee reserved the right to kick them out if he thought they were a threat to Schnee interests. However, while they were staying in the mansion they would be treated as honored guests. Oren was the last to be taken to his room.

"Weiss I've got a question." He said pulling her aside.

"What is it?"

"You've studied beacon and know who we are. And it's not like we were ever hiding what our semblances are. So I assume you know what they are."

"Of course."

"These conditions for our stay here, well, I can only assume that you didn't mention Grey's telepathy to your father?"

"I told my father everything he needed to know."

"You know, every time I talk to you I respect you more."

"Why thank you," she said with a wink, "Dinner is in thirty minutes, in the meantime please make yourself at home. Will there be anything else?"

"Anything I should know about your father before dinner?"

"Unless you start to worry or annoy him, he will keep up a visage of friendliness and hospitality. In order to have access to our resources for a longer period of time I suggest you reciprocate it."

"Thank you for the advice, I'll see you at dinner"

A half hour later Team GHOST joined Weiss, and Mr. Schnee in the dining room along with two people they hadn't met yet. Once they all settled in, Mr. Schnee was the first to speak.

"It would seem that we have some guests today, so allow me to make the introductions. Ironwood, Winter, this is Grey, Helen, Oren, Sam and Thane, Beacons team GHOST. Team GHOST, this is General Ironwood, and his second in command, my daughter, Winter." When he spoke it seemed off. Like a robot trying to sound happy, even though it never once felt that emotion.

"A pleasure to meet you" said Oren.

"Likewise." Said Winter.

"I'm curious," said Ironwood, "Are you the same Oren who studies Grimm?"

"Yes that would be me."

"I had no idea you were so young. How impressive to be accepted to a huntsmen academy two years early and to revolutionize our understanding of the Grimm at such an age."

"I'm surprised that you even believe it is me. My experience has been that the ""great minds"" refuse to acknowledge my studies simply because I am so young."

"I believe that intelligence has to do with experience, not age. From the way Ozpin praised you, it certainly sounds like you have experience."

"Well I appreciate that outlook. Would that more people were sitting on the council like you, it might not have taken a year for our last mission to be approved."

"I generally find the councils to be a pain. After all, they sit there in their comfy chairs while we go out and do the dirty work. You certainly have more experience than them."

By this time the servants had started bringing out food. A lovely pot roast, with rolls and vegetables.

"I'm curious general," spoke up Grey. "You mentioned Ozpin. We theorize he has been captured, but what do you think?"

"It's hard to say, Ozpin has always been a mysterious man. But he and I have been friends for a long time, I don't think there's anything he would hide from me. So yes I do think his Capture is the most likely possibility."

"Any idea on his location?"

"Sadly no, assuming the White Fang are guarding him, they move their camps around a lot and are hard to pinpoint. If it's not the White Fang but rather that Cinder character… well, we never found out enough about her to find any potential headquarters, though I'm told Qrow is investigating that possibility now."

"Sir, shouldn't we be a bit more careful about our intel?" said Winter.

"Relax Schnee. Ozpin spoke very highly of this team, in fact Qrow raised Oren. If there is any team we should be sharing info with, it's this one."

Winter narrowed her eyes at Oren and cynically said "Qrow raised you?"

"HAHA," laughed Oren, "I take it by that look on your face that you must have met him. He isn't the easiest person to get along with is he?"

"No he certainly isn't." chuckled Ironwood, "So what brings you to Atlas?"

"We are conducting an investigation on some rather nasty people. Mr. Schnee has been kind enough to provide accommodations during our stay here."

"I'm happy to be of service." Said Mr. Schnee.

"What about yourself general? What brings you here tonight?" continued Oren.

"Well after Beacon, we found ourselves pretty drained on resources. We just today made a business transaction for quite a lot of dust."

"I suppose that makes sense doesn't it."

"Anyway, please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you."

"Likewise."

After a nice dinner, and dessert and pleasant conversation they all called it a night. Just before bed Oren pulled aside Weiss and said.

"If you don't mind, could you please have someone get a portfolio together for a Doctor Amaranth tomorrow? She is the first person I would like to talk to."

"Of course, have a nice night."

"You too."

Oren crawled into bed ready for a nice sleep when Grey contacted him via telepathy.

"I overheard the thoughts of the servants. One of them is a mole for the White Fang. Must be how they always know where to be and when to be there. I guess they are planning to intercept Ironwoods dust shipment." Said Grey.

"I would suggest an anonymous tip off to Ironwood, and have Sam shadow him to make sure that our mole doesn't turn into an assassin."

"I like it. We can figure the rest out tomorrow. Sleep tight."

And with that Oren left his mind to wander in dreams.


	7. Doctor, Doctor!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> At Oren's recommendation The gang interviews one Doctor Amaranth. Oren finally gives up a little of his past.

"What do you mean you're not coming with us? Doctor Amaranth was your idea." Helen asked Oren.

"I suspect you could get more helpful information if I was not present with you, at least not right away. I am just going to have a small chat with Ironwood and then I'll join you. " he replied.

"Now Helen, you know as well as i do that once Oren gets an idea in his head that there's no talking him out of it." Said Grey.

"I know, i know... Sometimes you guys can be so exhausting." Said Helen.

"Oh by the way," Said Oren, "I have some interest in that Archaeological dig, she is funding. Do try to get some sort of passes or something before I arrive."

With that he left. The rest of Team Ghost proceeded to go to Doctor Amaranths lab.

"We are here on official huntsman business, could we please speak to doctor Amaranth?" Helen asked the receptionist.

"please wait in room 3-B, i'll let her know you're here." she said.

it was a good twenty minutes before she finally arrived. And when she did Team Ghost stuck to the plan that Oren devised. Helen said not a single word and focused on reading Dr. Amaranths emotions.

"Hello, My name is Dr. Amaranth, i'm told you're huntsmen on an investigation, how can i help?" she said.

"We have reason to believe that the people who... attacked Vale, are also targeting this location. We just have some questions for you." Said Grey.

"Of course."

"What exactly do you study here?"

"We study Aura and Semblance and the connections they have to the soul. there is still so little we understand about them and we are just trying to make sense of it."

"Can you think of any reason that terrorists would want to target this facility?"

"Not really. this particular field is difficult to make progress in, so it's not like we have any breakthroughs that could do serious harm."

"Can you think of anyone that you would've personally offended that might want revenge?"

"I can certainly think of people i've offended but none of them would go so far as hiring a terrorist group."

"Would you mind sending us a summary of your findings?"

"Of course, of course."

"I understand your funding an archaeological dig? Of what interest is it to you?"

"Part of our research is trying to understand how semblances and aura were perceived in the past. The archaeologist, Dr. Alizarin and i have been working closely together for years. That dig is the location of some newly discovered ruins. I always like to be present for these discoveries to see if there are any references to semblance, soul or aura."

"Do you think we could get some passes to visit this dig?"

"Of course, like i said Dr. Alizarin is a friend of mine, I can easily secure passes for the four of you."

"Actually we are a five man team, our fifth member is just running late due to some business."

"No problem, i can have five passes tomorrow if you like."

"That would be lovely."

suddenly there was a knock on the door. Grey motioned to the door and asked

"May I? That might be our fifth member."

"Certainly" responded the Dr.

Grey opened the door and on the other side stood Oren.

"Grey, sorry i'm late. I got caught up."

"No problem Oren, though i think we are just about done here. In fact Dr. Amaranth has kindly offered to get us passes for that Dig you wanted to investigate, we can visit tomorrow."

"Oh no, not tomorrow, we have that event tomorrow."

"Oh you're right... Dr. Amaranth, is it too late to reschedule our visit to say the day after tomorrow?"

"Of course," said Dr. Amaranth "If you don't mind me asking, what event are you going to?"

"We are not just a Huntsman team, we are also an alternative rock band. Call ourselves the Spectres. We are pretty well known in Vale, and thought we would take advantage of our travelling to do our first show in Atlas. Our show is tomorrow. Its also a good cover for travelling without criminals knowing your true intent. You should come check it out." said Grey.

"Unfortunately i am very busy. Maybe next time."

"Don't worry about it, we get it. I suppose we will see you in two days."

"Of course, have a lovely rest of your day."

as they were leaving they filled Oren in on their conversation. but Oren only had one question.

"Helen, what did you notice?"

"When she said that they didn't have any dangerous breakthroughs she was lying. When she said she couldn't think of anyone who would want revenge she was lying. the entire time I felt feelings irritation coming off of her. and when you walked in the room I felt nothing but straight cold fear. the moment she laid eyes on you." responded Helen.

"Is that why you said to get passes to the dig before you got there? so that she would be forced to hold to that?" asked Sam.

"Yep" said Oren cheerfully.

"What's your history with her?" asked Helen.

Oren shot a quick glare there was a long silence before he said. "I personally had no relation with her at all, but when I was still a kid, I was kidnapped and held in some kind of lab facility. The guards would gossip all the time about research their bosses etc, and one of the names I heard was Amaranth. A couple huntsmen rescued me and of course I tried to find out who they were, but all I had to go on was Amaranth. Of course when I looked it up online all I got was the color and other useless crap. when I grew up I eventually put two and two together and figured it would be Dr. Amaranth, and she was the only thing that came up. Of course I wanted to confirm my suspicions, I figured that a huntsmen destroying their facility would stick in their brains, and that they would remember my face."

"Shit dude," said Sam, "How long did they have you?"

"Three years."

"WHAT, DAMN. How did that huntsman find you? surely they wouldn't have sent out search parties after that amount of time." said Grey.

"huntsmen plural, one man and one woman. And they didn't mean to find me, they just stumbled upon me."

"I'll, bet you're parents were happy to see ya after that." said Thane.

There was a long silence before Oren said "My parents were already dead when i was kidnapped."

"But, then, did they kill your parents when they took you?" asked Helen.

"...I'm done, that's all you're getting. The only reason i told you this much is because its relevant to the mission."

"But..." started Thane who was promptly cut off.

"That is all you are getting for today" Oren growled through clenched teeth.

"Come on guys, lets give him some space. We gotta organize for our Spectre show tomorrow."

 

Meanwhile back at Amaranths Lab

 

As soon as those blasted huntsmen left Dr. Amaranth picked up her scroll and dialed her companion. Normally with the CCT down their would be no communications, but they had to create their own individual communication for their... less than ethical studies. who knew how convenient it would become later on.

"Hey its Amaranth... Not good, you remember that incident ten years ago? He's back... No no no, the Subject. And he is on a fucking team with four other Huntsmen for fucks sake...of course i sound upset I'M STRESSED OUT RIGHT NOW...they were asking about the people that attacked Vale... well with him on their team it's no doubt they know about our correspondence or at least suspect it... Ya they are coming to visit the dig site in a couple days, should we, you know, set up an ""Accident""?...ok we'll wait until Cinder gets here... yea, see ya soon."

and she hung up.


	8. Principals Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before Oren rejoined his team at Amaranths lab, he decided to stop by Atlas and talk to Ironwood.

Oren felt a little guilty leaving his team, but it was just for a little while. besides, he didn't want to risk the interrogation on his presence if his suspicions about Dr. Amaranth were correct. Not to mention it never hurt to get more info.

Oren heaved a long heavy sigh when he approached, don't misunderstand, he supported the military, he just didn't like the idea that the military controlled the education of huntsmen. It of course, would naturally put a lot of pressure on the students to go into military careers on graduation. And you don't build a strong military unless you expect to fight somebody. Nevertheless, he needed Ironwoods help.

He entered Atlas academy and made his way to the headmasters office. As he got off the elevator and approached the door, he could hear raised voices. Probably some such to do with Cinder, or the White Fang, the Grimm or even that robot girl Penny, Oren didn't know and frankly didn't care he had his own problems to worry about. so he knocked on the door to announce his presence.

The voices stopped and Ironwood answered the door, ushering Oren in. Oren walked into a room full of what he assumed to be academy staff and military officials, the only one he recognized was Winter.

"Oren, good to see you again." said Ironwood.

"You as well, am i interrupting something?"

"Not at all. I think we are finished for now. " That must have been the signal to his associates, because they all slowly ushered out except for Winter who stayed.

"What can i do for you?" asked Ironwood.

"Im hoping you could enlighten me on if you've encountered any of a specific kind of criminal in Atlas."

"Such as?"

"Illegal human experimentation."

"that's... quite an odd crime. Winter, would you mind searching our database for that information?"

"Of course" she responded while pulling up her scroll.

"May i ask why you are interested in this specifically?" asked Ironwood.

"There was an incident in the Kingdom of Vale several years ago. I believe, considering their research, that Cinder might be interested in contacting the perpetrators."

suddenly Winter interjected

"No known cases of illegal human experimentation in Atlas sir."

"Thank you Winter, sorry we couldn't be more help Oren."

"It's perfectly fine, just do me a favor and keep an eye out. They like to hide their labs in remote places with less likelihood of people accidentally wandering onto the premises. If you do find anything let me know, I always repay my favors."

"Of course."

"Oh and before I forget. tomorrow me and my Team are doing a show, I can get you backstage passes, if you'd like to stop by."

"A show?"

"Yes my team and I use a rock band as our cover for travelling etc. We are pretty popular in Vale and decided we would go ""on tour"" hence why we are in Atlas."

"That's certainly clever. Well if i can find the time i'll certainly stop by."

And with that Oren, left and got in the elevator. but before he could choose a floor, Winter joined him. and chose her floor.

"I'm curious, about your plans for my sister." she said

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you talked her into letting five people she'd never met before stay in her home."

"I barely had to talk, she had researched Beacon before moving there, and thus knew our credentials. She doesn't have a good relationship with her father as far I as know. All I did was ask and she said yes."

"Would you have asked if it was me?"

"I didn't ask to stay in your home, I merely asked for accommodations which, as far as I was concerned, could have been hooking us up at a good hotel."

"You didn't answer my question."

"...No, perhaps not."

"And why not?"

"Because I don't know you as well as your sister."

"So you manipulated her?"

"If you wanna get technical then I took advantage of the circumstances presented to me."

"So what are your plans for her now?"

"I have no plans for her, unless she wishes to get involved."

"Given the topic you were discussing in there, I would prefer it if she did not get involved."

"Then you will have to take that up with her, not me."

"Just promise me, that my sister will be kept safe."

"Winter, while they may not share my blood, I was raised alongside two of Weiss's teammates. I know the desire to protect your younger siblings. Don't worry you and I will both protect her."

"As soon as you came to our house, I researched you. I know your philosophy on promises. If you say the words ""I Promise"" then you keep it, but if you have any belief that you cannot keep the promise, then you don't say the words ""I Promise"". Every time you've made a promise you've kept it so I need to hear you promise to keep Weiss safe."

"I am comforted that my reputation actually has some merit."

"So?"

"Winter, I will keep your sister Weiss Schnee safe. I Promise."

"Good. Because if anything happens to her i'll kill you."

"If anything happens to her i'll let you."

The elevator dinged and Oren got off giving a final Nod to winter, before joining his team at Dr. Amaranths lab. Sending out a mental call to Grey to let him know of his approach.


	9. Spectres on Tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short little chapter highlighting Team GHOST's band "The Spectres"

"So wait where are we going again?" asked Thane.

"We are going to the city center for performing Arts. Don't worry about it, just follow me." Replied Weiss Schnee.

"Hey Weiss, thanks for escorting us, I'm afraid we still don't know our way around too well." Said Grey

"Of course. It does me some good to get away from my father sometimes. So what instruments do you guys play?"

"Well technically we all play multiple instruments, but as far as our roles in the band, Grey plays bass and lead vocals, Helen is lead guitar and lead vocals, Thane is backup guitar, and Sam is keyboard." Said Oren. "and I play drums."

"That sounds... like an interesting performance."

"That depends on how hyped the crowd gets." Said Helen.

"I'm actually curious so see how many people show up. We are well known in Vale, and have a strong community online, but this will be the first time performing in a different kingdom." Said Oren.

"GREY!" Shouted a voice. And suddenly Grey was on the floor in the tight embrace of a girl.

"Weiss, meet our band manager and Grey's younger sister. Violet." Said Oren

"Hey Violet, good to see you too." Said Grey.

"I've been missing you, you never visit anymore. Just a letter saying to book a tour in Atlas? REALLY?"

"You must admit the circumstances sort of generated an emergency."

"All the more reason to visit, I was worried."

"Well here we are visiting now, what do you wanna talk about? Any of your friends do anything gossip worthy?"

"Don't tease me, I'm not a child anymore" she said with a pout, causing Grey to chuckle.

"I know I know. Are you excited to be on tour?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING! I'm stressing the hell out. Do you know how hard it was to gather the crew together after everything in Vale? Let alone to travel. Now all the kingdoms are paranoid about terrorists and security is much tighter. Now I'm managing a sold out show in a country I've never even visited before because you need a cover for your huntsmen shit."

"Sold out?" asked Oren.

"Yes sold out. Not including crashers, backstage passes or any plus ones you wanna bring." She said noticing Weiss for the first time.

"…. How do you know a member of the Schnee family?" she asked.

"Long story. But she will be attending as one of those plus ones you mentioned."

"….Ok" At this point Violet seemed to be a bit star struck.

Weiss finished leading them to the City Center for Performing Arts and they saw their instruments for the first time in, well, months. After all they hadn't played since before the attack on Vale. Helen and Grey plugged in their guitars, Thane attached the mic to his acoustic guitar and Sam plugged in his keyboard. Oren, had the most unusual instrument. He had an electric drum set, so you could change the types of percussion sounds you get, but it was a special drum set. Oren pressed a button on the box containing his drums, causing the individual parts of his drum set to float up, suspended in the air over the box (which had split into parts and flattened itself). The box parts generated a special magnetic field that kept the drum set hovering in the air. This idea was Oren's in order to conserve space while travelling (it also looked cool as all hell). And of course all their instruments had special neon tubes over them which could glow different colors. The instruments had also been modified to be Dust compatible, which lead to some amazing effects on stage.

They practiced for a few hours, they were a little rusty at first, but once they got into it then it was, at that point, muscle memory. They went over what songs they were gonna play such as Little walks, counting shards, Avenue of broken dreams, etc. They may even break their pace and get Thane to sing one of those folk songs from his childhood. After all, a change of pace can be good and the people usually loved it.

They went on to set up their gear on the stage. It looked like an opera house, not their usual venue, but then again what else could they expect from a place named "City Center for Performing Arts." Eventually people started slowly funneling in, so the Specters went backstage while the crew finished.

As usual Violet would sit in the audience and pay attention for any audio/visual issues. Then Grey would take that info from her via telepathy and transmit it to the rest of the group. In this way they could fix minor issues even during songs.

By the time they took the stage the entire auditorium filled up. Mostly teens and young adults. Every song they played the audience was screaming and cheering. Which escalated whenever their instruments did their special abilities, like Helens guitar Shooting fire out of it. They even got Thane to sing "Paddy's Bricks" a song about an unlucky man who had a series of unfortunate accidents at a construction site, which had the audience rolling around laughing. They played for about two hours before their last song. They signed autographs and mingled with the fans for another 40 minutes, and by the time everybody was leaving, the sun had set.

"Aww man I forgot how good it feels to be on stage." Said Thane, as they were in the dressing room.

"You guys were good. Much better than I would've expected." Said Weiss.

"Thanks Weiss." Said Helen.

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Violet entered and said

"Oren there's a man here to see you."

"Who is it?" Oren asked.

"I don't know, but he's old and drunk."

"Qrow?! Please send him in."

Sure enough it wasn't long before the man himself walked into the dressing room.

"Hey there kid. How ya been?" he asked.

"About as well as can be expected." Replied Oren getting up and hugging Qrow. "But I'm glad to see you're alright. Did Yang find you?"

"Ya she found me. She also let Ruby and her friends know where you were, just in case their trail goes cold. That was some show you guys put on."

"Didn't know you were into that kind of music."

"Just cause I'm old?"

"Well… Ya." Oren smirked.

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that. So what are you guys up to in Atlas?"

"We are investigating a group of people that Cinder may have an interest in allying with."

"Why not investigate Cinder herself?"

"I'm told Ruby and her friends are already investigating Cinder's direct leads. I'm banking that an indirect lead could lead us to Cinder."

"You're not worried about her safety? After all that Cinder lady killed Pyrrha who was a world renowned fighter."

"First off, despite the fact that she was a prodigy, Pyrrha was still just a first year student at Beacon. Secondly Ruby is perfectly capable, after all she, like me, got into Beacon two years early. She also now has the surviving members of Team JNPR, as well as Yang rejoining her. I also understand that they are in Haven, if they are smart then they have already contacted the local huntsmen academy. If they are not smart then they have still at least contacted Team SSSN, a team they have befriended who are from Haven. As I understand, it was only three people who brought down Amber when she was the fall maiden, so I'm perfectly fine if nine of our people go up against Cinder."

"Wow you really are good at getting information…So you know about the Maidens huh."

"I discovered Amber's body in a hidden vault underneath Beacon. After that Glynda told us everything."

"Look I…"

"Stow it. Nothing you can say could make this any better. If you wanna make things right, then just help us end this."

"Alright what's the plan?"

"… I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me what's the plan? I know how intelligent you are, you're a master strategist. You said to help end this so how do you want me to do it?"

"… You would just take orders from me? Wouldn't you be more comfortable with someone who has been involved in your affairs longer, like Ironwood or Glynda? Or even just taking the lead yourself?"

"Glynda already seems to have differed to you and frankly I don't like Ironwoods way of doing things. As for me? Well I might have been involved in this organization for quite some time, but i'm more a ""dirty work"" kinda guy, I followed Ozpin's instructions and since I don't have the same aptitude for strategy, I guess I'll follow you now. After all, I raised you so I both know what you're capable of."

"Have you seen Glynda?"

"What?"

"You mentioned Glynda differing to me. Since communication is down then I have to logically assume that you physically spoke to her."

"You just gonna gloss over that heartrending speech I just made?"

"Hey I heard it, but time is precious. You see Glynda yes or no?"

"Yea I saw her."

"How is the communication tower coming?"

"Slow, that giant Grimm did a number on the tower, and the tower itself is close enough to Beacon that there is a strong Grimm presence. She's Gathered almost every huntsmen in vale to try and retake the tower so that they can begin repairs. I've let her know to give you a call when communications are back up."

Oren put his hand to his temple before taking a deep breath and exhaling a long heavy sigh.

"You alright?" asked Qrow.

"Ya, its just….. I cannot stress enough how important it is that communications get brought back online. The last thing people saw was Atlas tech attacking Vale civilians. Grimm attacks are just gonna keep going up."

"Yea it doesn't look good does it."

"Qrow I think I know how you can help. I believe these people may be hiding various bases such as labs, or warehouses, In desolate unpopulated areas. Could you scout around some of the more rural areas of Atlas and see if you find any suspicious buildings like that?"

"Ya no problem." Just as Qrow, was getting ready to leave Grey spoke up.

"Umm Hi, I don't believe we have been introduced."

Both Qrow and Oren immediately started blushing, due to the fact that they had that entire conversation forgetting that anyone else was in the room.

"Uh yea hi. Names Qrow." He said Sheepishly

" I'm Grey, and this is Helen, Sam and Thane, who make up the rest of team GHOST, Violet, our band manager/my sister and Weiss Schnee."

"Oh we've met" said Weiss with a hint of irritation.

"So you're the ones i've heard so much about. Oren wrote a lot of good things about you guys."

"And you're the one who raised Oren you said?"

"Ya I adopted him. Brought him up. It wasn't really easy on either of us I think, just being thrust into that situation. But in the end I don't regret any of it."

"You make it sound like adoption is an abrupt process."

"Well for us it was. Ozpin asked me to keep an eye on this kid, seeing as I was the one who found him in the first place."

"Found him where?" Asked Helen eagerly.

"Sorry, not my place to say. You gotta remember I raised him, so i'm completely familiar with his desire to bury his past. He's gonna have to tell you on his own time." He said with a wink at Oren. Oren returned his wink with a grateful nod. And with that Qrow was off. The team stayed a little later discussing the show and their game-plan for the next day. But after awhile they all went to the Schnee manner (Violet included) to rest up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you link my song title references? I thought they were pretty good.


	10. Chapter 10

"So Oren, Why were you so interested in these ruins?" Asked Thane. The team had traveled to an archaeological dig site. they had uncovered what appeared to be a temple. While the temple was still sort of underground, they had excavated the inside and found an entrance so people could go inside. It was dimly lit by some torches.

"Thane, why do I feel like the first thing I hear every morning is you asking me some question?" asked Oren

" What can I say, i'm curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat"

"But satisfaction brought it back."

"Shit i was hoping you wouldn't know the rest of that saying. No one else does."

"Well?"

"Well, first off because I wanna know why Amaranth is really funding it. Secondly they might provide some insight into how people used to deal with the Grimm."

"Oh so it's one of your research projects."

"Not specifically, but you know, don't look a gift horse in the mouth."

"What's irking you about the Grimm now?" asked Grey.

"They are just strange creatures. They have natural armor and are incredibly vicious and powerful. I'm just trying to get how humans survived before they discovered dust. If the Grimm attacks were as plentiful back then as they are today, then humankind should've been wiped out. Even some shitty murals might provide some insight as to where Dust or even the Grimm... Originate from."

" Speaking of murals," noted Helen. As they approached a room that had murals on the wall. depicting various stories. Oren examined them and let out a heavy sigh.

"Its always the same story. Man is meager and afraid at the mercy of the Grimm. Man discovers Dust. Man turns tide against Grimm. Blah Blah BLah. I want something NEW and DIFFERENT dammit."

"Unfortunately for the moment these are the only murals and paintings we've discovered. But it looks like this temple goes even deeper underground than we once speculated. so i'm sure that we will find some new discoveries."

Standing before them was an old man, small and thin. with a clean shaven face and long white hair tied in a ponytail.

"And, you are?" asked Grey.

"Of course sorry, my name is Plum. i'm one of the archaeologists here"

"Honey are you pestering these nice kids?" asked a new voice. A portly man with a bushy white beard walked over.

"Not at all. Meet my husband, Mullberry," said Plum, " I was just telling these kids how much of this temple was still undiscovered."

"Ah yes, there is a lot of project left in this dig."

"Well please let me know if you discover any new murals, I would be very interested in seeing them." Said Oren.

"Of course!" Responded both Mullberry and Plum at once.

"Regrettably with communications down, we are limited to snail mail. What address should i send any messages to?" asked Plum.

"Me and my friends are staying at the Schnee mansion at the moment."

"Oh so you're the special guests then."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Yes Dr. Alizarin, heard from her good friend Dr. Amaranth that a group of Huntsmen, staying at the Schnee mansion were interested in visiting the dig site."

"Dr. Alizarin?"

"Oh she is in charge of the whole dig. Come you must meet her." The two men led the team up out of the ruins, and into a nearby tent, which was obviously the HQ for the dig. A girl, stood over a table looking at charts and journals.

"Dr. Alizarin, those guests you told us about are here." said Mullberry.

"Oh lovely," she said turning to the group, "I'm Dr. Alizarin, i'm in charge of this dig. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Like wise." responded Grey.

"You'll have to forgive me, i can't talk right now. i'm very busy."

"Of course, please don't let us stand in your way."

With that Alizarin left to check on some other parts of the dig. Team Ghost didn't stay much longer, and after some chat with Mullberry and Plum, and the promise of a letter should they discover anything interesting they left.

"So besides the ruins what did we notice?" asked Oren.

"Alizarin had a similar feeling when speaking with us as Dr. Amaranth. They are both involved in whatever is happening." said Helen.

"And what about those two archaeologists we met?"

"No, they are not involved. they are just being played."

"What say we go back to the mansion and ask Weiss what there is to do for fun around here." asked Thane.

"That's fine, it'll give me some time to think." replied Oren.

As soon as she left the tent, Dr. Alizarin found a quiet secluded space and pulled out her scroll.

"Hey Amaranth, it's me Alizarin... Ya they came to visit, nothing of note happened though...Well it's obvious they suspect me...Did you call her?... Seriously the White Fang? the Terrorists? Why would they help us?...ok, and you said they would be here tomorrow?... Well if Cinders not with them then when is she coming?... That's not too bad... Who is Adam and why is she bringing him?...huh interesting...Ya ok, i'll see ya round."


	11. Chapter 11

Another day had gone by without any large amount of progress. Just going over maps, and data. It wasn't until the next day that something interesting happened. When Qrow came back with news of White Fang activity in the area.

"I think," Said Oren, "That it might be time to interrogate that mole in Mr. Schnee's staff."

Since it was Sam's job to monitor him, he took care of it. While performing his duties, the mole was surprised when his shadow started rising out of the ground. The shadow then knocked him out and sucked him back into the ground with it. A few maids were a bit confused when they caught glimpses of a little round shadow bouncing very quickly down the halls, but they paid it no mind.

Sam brought him to the basement of the mansion and "released" him back into the regular world. This mole (who turned out to be a literal mole faunus) was terrified to find himself at the mercy of Weiss Schnee, Their mansion's guests, and a drunken huntsman.

"God, damn that's exhausting." Said Sam as he rose out of the shadow.

"Haven't you been working on that since you discovered your semblance?" asked Thane.

"Yes and it's not easy to do. Shadow travel by myself is tiring, but with someone else it's absolutely draining."

"We appreciate your contribution." Said Helen. "But right now I think we have something more important to deal with."

Helen and Grey stayed in the room with the mole, while the rest of the team vacated the room.

"so what are they gonna do torture him?" asked Qrow.

"Oh hell no. We don't like torture. Problem is you always get the answer you want to hear, not the truth." Said Oren.

"Then what's up?"

"Team GHOST is a team that specializes in the gathering of Information. Half of that dynamic is Grey and Helen. With Grey's telepathy, and Helen's ability to read emotions that makes them the ultimate interrogation team."

"What exactly is Helen's semblance anyway? I've never heard of something like that."

"Helen can read, manipulate and control emotions. We call her semblance Empathy. She can also utilize that semblance in some pretty creative ways."

"Sooo You said that Grey and Helen were half the dynamic, what's the other half?"

"Thane and Sam are the scouts, code-name "Predators". They go out and gather information via spying, following, infiltrating etc. You've seen Sam turn into a shadow, while Thane can actually turn into a cloud of smoke. Makes infiltration and scouting quite easy."

"So far I've heard two halves of this team and still you're somehow not involved. Where do you fit in?"

"Technically I'm not wrong. I don't really gather the information, so you've heard both halves of that dynamic. I'm a separate dynamic, I utilize the information they gather to its fullest extent."

Suddenly Grey and Helen came out of the room.

"It appears that Dr. Alizarin and Amaranth are in fact in cahoots with Cinder, and completely aware that we suspect them. They have, apparently, a private communication network that doesn't rely on the CCTS, and called Cinder for help. She sent the nearest White Fang reinforcements she could, and she herself is only a few days away from here herself. She is bringing, Adam, the head of the White Fang as well as other members of her inner circle. They haven't grouped up with the local sect yet, but I can give you the locations of their main Atlas HQ as well as several safe houses. The mole has assumed that they are currently camped in the wilderness and will make contact and receive further instructions tomorrow. The mole has also assumed that they would've taken shelter in or near some of the abandoned military bases from the last war." Said Grey.

"…. wow…. You weren't kidding about them being the ultimate interrogation team." Said Qrow. "So what now?"

"Qrow, was there one of these military bases near to where you first discovered the White Fang?"

"Yes, i could easily take you there."

"Grey, this private comm network. The mole has one of these devices?"

"Yep."

"I've got a plan if you're all up for it."

After a general consensus from the group Oren went over the plan.

Grey would go and make the mole contact the White Fang with a tip off and then Weiss would confiscate his communication device. Meanwhile Qrow would lead Thane, Sam, and Oren to one of those abandoned military bases. The three would allow themselves to be captured and taken to the Main Headquarters of the White Fang in Atlas while Qrow tailed them as backup. Within 5 minutes of arrival Oren, Thane, and Sam would escape and find the database in the HQ, hopefully doing this before they contact Cinder or Adam. The database would contain a veritable bounty of useful info. Weiss in the meantime would go see Ironwood and inform him of their plan, and once she got a code phrase from Oren, would then raid all the other White Fang safe houses and locations, drastically reducing Cinder's resources upon arrival in Atlas. Helen, and Grey would go with Weiss and grab a couple airships from Ironwood, once the code phrase was given they would lead a raid on the Main headquarters.

"Everyone onboard?" asked Oren.

"Wow… You really got an aptitude for this stuff don't ya?" said Qrow.

"The thing that makes Team GHOST so frightening isn't in our fighting power, or our admittedly scary semblances. It's how good we are at gathering info, and using against our enemies."

"Let's do it."

That night Qrow lead them to the abandoned base. They all took cover when they saw movement inside.

"Thane, do a quick scout." Said Oren.

With that, Thanes essence seemed to evaporate, he became a floating cloud of smoke which moved quietly over the land and blanketed the base. When he rematerialized next to them he said.

"Someone's down there. A girl, probably a civilian. Looks like she's been living there."

"What we gonna do now?" asked Sam.

"We go down and try to scare he away before the White Fang get here. If that fails, then we bust her out with us." Said Oren.

They went down to the military base and spent a few minutes scouting around looking for this girl. Turns out she wasn't a civilian because she got the drop on Sam. Literally, she dropped from the ceiling and put a blade to Sam's throat. Immediately Thane and Oren, were at the ready in case she wanted to fight.

"Easy Girl," said Sam "We just come to warn ya about some bad men men that are on their way here."

"What?" she said.

"Lemme translate." Said Thane. "The White Fang, you heard of them? Well they are gonna be raiding this base to try and capture us in a couple minutes. SO unless you want a front row seat to whatever hell storm they're planning, then I suggest you leave."

"WHAT!" she shouted. Sam used this opportunity to melt into his own shadow and re emerge next to Thane and Oren.

"But they can't be here, that's not possible Adam is in Haven." She continued. Oren seemed to be the only one who made note of this girls knowledge.

"Well he sent some reinforcements and is on his way here now in fact." Said Thane.

"NO He can't be on his way here!" This girl sounded quite distressed.

"Shit," said Oren as his eyes widened, "I know who you are."

"Really? Who is she?" asked Sam.

"She's the B in RWBY."

"What does that mean?" asked Thane.

However, this seemed to grab the girl's attention.

"How did you know that?"

"No time. Look I'm very sorry, like really truly sorry. But now there is no time to run so I need you to listen. When the White Fang gets here, we are gonna surrender, please for all our sakes go along with it and trust us." Rushed Oren.

Not even a few moments later a hole was blown in the ceiling, and White Fang began to rappel down into the building. Training their weapons on the group of people. Of course Team Ghost surrendered and after some hesitation, the girl also lowered her weapons. They were roughly taken to an encampment with a cage that they were already keeping a prisoner in. They spent the night in that cage.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is my favorite chapter I've written. I wrote it before Volume 4 came out so obviously I could only guess Blake's motives for leaving and got it a tiny bit wrong, but oh well ill stick with it (after all I've already got more stuff pre-written i just need to upload it. too late to change it now.)

"So… What's your name?" asked Thane. Trying to break the awkward silence. The girl only glared back at him. Oren, Sam, and Thane were handcuffed in a cage that was now on-board a truck headed toward some unknown location. In the cage with them was that girl from the base and one other person.

"Blake." She said.

"So I was right." Said Oren

"ya, how did you know that anyway?"

"I was raised alongside Yang and Ruby. I remembered your face because I saw the picture you guys took when you first became a team."

"It feels like so long ago."

"People always say time flies when you're having fun. While that's true, time also flies when shits going wrong." Oren then turned to the other captive, "What about, you? Whats your story?"

The man was dressed in all black with satin pants and a button down shirt. He wore a cotton vest over his shirt and a long silk cape. He had on dress shoes and a wide brimmed fedora. The most strange thing was that he was wearing a Bird mask with a long beak, but it was open, so it only covered his nose and eyes. The mask was the only thing that wasn't black, being a bone white.

"Oh yes well, I have a name, but I only respond to Hopper." Despite his intimidating appearance, when he spoke he seemed a bit…. Buffoonish. "I'm a traveler. I travel to all sorts of different lands to learn about their cultures. More specifically their style of combat. I was unfortunately caught in the wrong place at the wrong time it seems."

"Well Hopper, it would actually seem that you were quite lucky, because me and my team are here."

"Oh really? I would assume that since it appears your intention to be captured, that you are confident and have a plan of escape?"

"You are very insightful. By the way, have you noticed that the ride seems to have smoothed out a bit?"

And it was true. Nobody noticed but for about five minutes they had been riding smoothly.

"We are on our way to some kind of civilization. We are on a road." Soon some gas started spraying into the cage. They were being knocked out.

They awoke in a dark cell. Amazingly they were all still in the same cell. A faunus was standing over them.

"Oh look, our prey is awake."

Oren simply smirked turned toward Blake and said "Did you enjoy your cat nap?" resulting in Thane starting to giggle.

"Did…. Did you just make a pun?" she asked.

"Puns are a sign of intelligence."

"….. Do you really think now is the best time?"

"just trying to lighten the mood."

"She just had a nap, and is already tired of your bullshit Oren." Joked Sam, causing Thane to burst out laughing. The White Fang faunus had a scowl on his face and it just kept getting uglier.

"HEY, I'm in charge here. What are your names?" he asked

"Allow me to do introductions. This is Arthur Anymore-doughnuts, Oswald that Endswald, Pierre Causemy-bladdersempty, and Liz Anya." Said Oren, pointing to the rest of the captives in turn. Every name he said caused Thane to laugh harder and harder until even Sam was chuckling. The Faunus's eye twitched and it was obvious he wasn't amused.

"And what about you" said the Faunus through gritted teeth.

"Oh i'm Hugh Jasshole." Said Oren, at which point Thane literally started rolling on the floor gripping his sides laughing.

"Listen you snide little shit. We were warned a team of huntsmen was investigating the area, and by the looks of it we caught almost your entire team. Our base is not only hidden but it's cloaked, Technology starts to scramble if it gets too close. I know huntsmen teams come in fours, so you only have one man on the outside. There is no way you are getting out of this. So it might behoove you to cooperate with me."

"Behoove? I didn't realize you were a horse Faunus."

"I'm going to ignore that comment. I'll ask one more time. What is your name?"

"Keith Mypastywhitebutt."

"OK Fine, I tried to be nice. Once I get my orders from Adam, well i'm sure he will have some ideas that will encourage your cooperation" Said the faunus walking away.

"What if I said my name was Frank Lee Dontgiveadamn?" Oren shouted after him.

"what was that all about?" asked Blake

"That, was me gathering information."

"How so?"

"When people get angry, they get careless."

"And what exactly did you learn?"

"There is a cloaking device somewhere in this facility. Adam is not here, and has not been contacted yet. Which also tells me that it is still the same day that we were initially captured."

"So what now?"

"SAM." Shouted Oren, Sam immediately sat up straight. "Scouting objectives, Locate our weapons, the cloaking device, the data storage, and the communication hub."

"Hehe, Aye sir" Chuckled Sam.

"Wait wait wait, I really need some context here." Said Blake.

"Well dear, simply put, we fully intended to get captured, we physically have the ability to break out anytime we want, but we might as well send out our scout first so we know where we're goin. No sense running around in the dark." Said Thane.

"OK, so how do you plan to scout from in here?"

"I think its time you met the unofficial sixth member of team GHOST." Said Sam. Considering the dim lighting in the cell, it wasn't very easy to see. But Blake did notice when Sam's shadow physically got up out of the ground and stood before them. White light emitted from its eyes and mouth.

"HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE." Shouted Blake, the stress of everything starting to get to her.

"It's creative application of semblance. My semblance initially started as I could manipulate the physical world by manipulating shadows. With a little creative thinking, I can now travel through shadows and even gave actual life to my own shadow. Meet Tsur Luemas, the unofficial sixth member of our team."

With that, the shadow called Tsur bowed and took of his hat.

"Tsur," said Oren "You know your objectives?"

Tsur smiled and nodded his head.

"Make sure no one discovers you."

Tsur melted into the shadows on the floor and disappeared.

"Hey Oren, it looks like these cuffs they got us in use inhibitors." said Thane.

"I'm sorry but what's an inhibitor." Said Hopper, who had till this point been so silent, that they had forgotten he was with them.

"An inhibitor, is a device that prevents a person from using their aura or semblance." said Oren. "And it was one of their only smart moves in this case. All of our semblances would allow for an easy escape from normal handcuffs."

"Then what do you recommend?" asked Blake. She jumped when Thane threw his handcuffs into her lap.

"Thankfully our Thane, is a self-proclaimed master of sleight of hand. and lock-picking"

"Would you like me to get your cuffs sir Oren?" Thane asked with an over-exaggerated bow.

"Thanks, but i can get them myself."

"Very well. What about you M'lady." Thane said moving over to Blake.

"Excuse me Oren." Started Hopper.

"Dust" Said Oren.

"Beg Pardon?"

"You were about to ask how i was gonna free myself without my semblance or Thane's lock-picks. The answer is that I have a very unique method of utilizing Dust."

With that Oren closed his eyes and slowed his breathing. For a minute you could see the muscles in his neck flexing. He brought the chains of his handcuffs up to his mouth and breathed out a white mist. The chain was soon encased in a coat of freezing cold ice, weakening it significantly. Oren simply snapped the chain. He repeated the process, freezing the cuffs around his wrists and slamming them into each other, shattering them. By the time Thane finished picking the rest of their handcuffs and began picking the cell door, Tsur had returned. Tsur changed his shape till he resembled a map with several bullet points and a cheesy "You are here" mark.

While they were walking Blake spoke up.

"I have two questions."

"I used some creative thinking awhile ago with my semblance. Instead of summoning Tsur whenever I need him, I... well the best way to describe this is that I gave him life. He now summons himself. So when I was wearing those inhibitor cuffs, while I did technically use my semblance, it wasn't actually me using it. That's why Tsur was able to come and scout for us." said Sam.

"I'm an orphan who was raised by circus folk, Aside from the owner of the circus being a trained huntsmen, I also worked with the magicians. I learned a lot of sleight of hand, how to manipulate people's attention, tricks and more. I wear a gauntlet on both of my arms that have been fitted with an outer layer of silicone and colored to match my skin-tone exactly. One of these gauntlets has a rather large lock-pick set hidden in them. which is how i was able to get out of my cuffs. Always have something up your sleeve." Said Thane.

"And now i have no more questions." said Blake.

Tsur led them to the warehouse where their weapons were being kept. Thane grabbed his broom, Sam grabbed his machete, Blake grabbed her weapon (something called Gambol Shroud) and Hopper grabbed what looked like a wooden staff with the head of an owl on the top.

"Where's your weapon Oren?" asked Blake.

"I don't use one. Anyway Blake, Hopper, since you guys are here, wanna help us out with our mission?"

"I feel like i could learn a lot hanging around you guys, so sure." said Hopper.

"I suppose if i wanna get out of here then yes." said Blake.

"Good. Tsur, could you bring up the map again?" Asked Oren. Tsur happily obliged.

"Sam, you will go to the data storage and download everything, and i do mean everything. Thane, you and Hopper will go disable the cloaking device. Myself and Blake will go to the communication room and send the signal to the others. Sound good?"

They all agreed, memorized Tsur's map, and split up.

*****

Sam was walking alone down a maze of corridors and hallways. Well, not technically alone, after all he had Tsur with him. Occasionally Tsur would go a little bit ahead, causing Sam to wander past some unconscious White Fang faunus. Ever since they got out of the prison wing, the halls got brighter (probably because they actually turned on the lights in this area.) Although Sam loved the darkness, he was thankful for the light. It made everything seem a bit less depressing. Eventually Tsur stopped him, warning him they were close to their target. Tsur morphed into a vague map that resembled big double doors, in front of them was a sort of security checkpoint, to make sure no one unauthorized could enter. The number 8, was behind the doors and the number 5 was in front of them. There was also the image of a camera in front of the doors, with a cord that led behind them. A giant arrow was pointed at the double doors.

"Tsur," said Sam "Just to make sure i'm understanding correctly, are you telling me that there are five guards outside, and eight guards inside who are monitoring that security point?"

Tsur nodded.

"Well, lets not keep them waiting."

Tsur melted into the shadows and went ahead. Sam waited ten seconds and followed suit. He rounded the corner and as soon as the first faunus saw him he shouted

"FREEZE" and they all immediately trained their guns on him. But it didn't last long, one of them was standing near a wall. He was knocked unconscious instantly when Tsur came out of his shadow, grabbed his head and slammed it into the wall. Sam used the confusion to close the distance and surprised another by hitting him in the forehead with the butt of his machete. another faunus crumpled to the ground. The remaining three had regained their composure and activated their auras.

"I guess that's it for surprise knockouts" Thought Sam.

Two of them began to fire at Sam, while another charged him with a sword. Now Oren had taught them all a very special method of fighting, rather than completely rely on your aura as protection, protect your aura, that way it doesn't run out as fast and you still have some of it in case of an emergency. It is for this reason that the faunus were baffled when Sam used his machete to deflect every bullet fired at him (at his level, only two people with guns were no problem.) Tsur came out of the two shooters shadows and grabbed their ankles, tripping them. The faunus with the sword swung down at him, but in a nice clean figure 8 motion, Sam knocked the sword away and slashed down the faunus's front. Then for good measure, turned the blade in his hand and brought the butt of his machete up into the faunus's jaw. He fell without even a grunt. The remaining two faunus were starting to get up when they suddenly started hovering in the air. They were terrified and confused when they saw Sam holding his arms as if he were the one holding them. When they saw that on the floor Sam's shadow was holding their shadows the confusion went away, but not the terror. Sam brought his hands together and the two faunus collided in midair. He dropped them and they landed in a heap on the floor. Without another word Sam strutted over to the doors and opened them. He was greeted by pitch darkness. He was having trouble understanding why, that is until a bullet hit his face. Sam's aura absorbed the impact, and he started to chuckle.

"Ah, I see. Faunus have night vision, and you hope that by encasing yourselves in darkness, you will gain some sort of advantage over me. Why not? This tactic has worked in the past. But it's like you watched me take out those other guards, and you weren't paying attention." The doors started to slowly close behind him. "You might be friends with darkness, but he is my brother. When I had no one, the darkness took me in and kept me safe. You hope to defeat me with darkness? I am the Baron of Darkness." With that, the doors clicked shut behind him. For a split second, the entire wall was covered in Tsur's creepy smile. From the outside of the doors, if you listened, you could hear the faint screams of fear, from the poor faunus trapped in that room.

Eventually Sam found a light switch, he was in a warehouse of servers, all connected to one point. Sam walked up to that computer thinking to himself

"I suppose they have all this data on this one computer for convenience sake. Well, as they will soon learn, the convenient way is not always the safest way. "

As he pulled out his storage drive he couldn't help but chuckle.

"No matter how advanced technology gets, there will always be USB"

He plugged his drive into the computer and began downloading every scrap of Data that there was. It took a little longer than he thought, but in the end he got it all. suddenly all the lights started flashing red and a loud alarm was going off.

"Guess that's our cue, Tsur lead me to Oren." Sam shouted. Tsur took off down the halls, with Sam close behind.

*****

Thane and Hopper had the furthest distance to travel, so they were running down the endless halls. Thane wasn't quite sure what's to make of Hopper. He seemed buffoonish but Thane couldn't tell if it was an act or not. His weapon was also strange, nowadays nobody used wooden weapons anymore. Even staffs like his were made of some kind of metal now. Not that he couldn't take care of himself, many times on this mission Thane had seen him K.O. Faunus that were attacking them. It just unnerved Thane how everything about Hopper just seemed so strange. Eventually Thane realized they were getting close to where Tsur said the cloaking device was.

"This thing is gonna be heavily guarded, you don't need me to babysit you do ya?" Said Thane

"Just try and keep up." Responded Hopper. Thane had to admit, Hopper had spirit.

They busted through a door and emerged into a room straight out of a sci-fi novel. They were on one of the many catwalks that spanned the ceiling of the room. In the center of the large room was an enormous machine that stretched like a pillar from the floor to the ceiling.

"That's a big machine" said Hopper.

"well I suppose they want to be extra safe. After all this HQ is in the most heavily militarized kingdom on Remnant." Responded Thane. Thane noticed a great many Faunus starting to train their weapons on them.

"plan?" Asked Hopper

"wing it?"

"suggestion"

"I'm all ears"

"you take top I take bottom?"

"Sounds good."

with that Hopper jumped over the railing of the catwalk and landed on the floor. A group a five Faunus were charging at Thane. Thane got his chimney broom and started spinning it in front of him. A white gas spewed out of it. Thane specialized in poisons and toxins, over the years he had developed quite an immunity to them. Including the very potent knockout gas that he blasted their way with a little air dust. As the gas billowed over the Faunus, they quickly fell to the floor unconscious. A bullet ricocheted off the railing near him. Thane saw that a great many Faunus were lining the other catwalks and firing at him. Thane used his semblance to change his lower half into a pillar of smoke. He began flying across the catwalks knocking Faunus off, or using his weapon to knock them out, occasionally landing on a catwalk to battle hand to hand. Thane didn't get much time to observe Hopper, but from what he did see Hopper was handling himself just fine. He fought using his staff primarily like a bow staff, but his style was very strange. For one, he would occasionally grip his staff from the bottom and swing it like a sword, or thrust it like a rapier. Nobody could sneak up on him, and he deflected every bullet that came his way with his staff. Once when there were four Faunus attacking him, he swung his staff in a wide arc releasing flames from the bottom, engulfing the area in flame. Although Thane couldn't figure out how, Hopper must've somehow implemented dust into his weapon. Thane used his broom to block a swing from a Faunus, and kicked him in the nuts. When he bent over Thane grabbed his back and slammed his head into a railing and swung him backwards over the other railing. He approached the machine, but he could not make sense of it at all. There were so many buttons and lights that he couldn't even begin to understand how to shut it down.

"Hopper! Do you have any idea how to shut this thing down?" Shouted Thane.

"I have an inkling." Said Hopper. Hopper ran towards the machine and jumped up, slamming the butt of his staff into the machine, and activated some lightning dust. The machine crackled and sparked, the electricity arced through the building and began short circuiting the lights. Finally a part of the machine exploded.

"...Well that worked." Said Thane. Suddenly what remained of the lights started flashing a bloody red, and a loud alarm started blaring through the speakers.

"Think they noticed?" Asked Hopper sarcastically.

"Nah, it was probably Sam." Said Thane with a smirk. "Come on let's go meet up with Oren."

*****

Oren and Blake were walking at a more casual pace. They spent their time mostly in silence, until Blake spoke.

"You said you were raised alongside Yang and Ruby right?" She asked.

"Yep, their uncle Qrow raised me."

"Have you seen them recently?"

"only Yang. Apparently Ruby went gallivanting off to Haven."

"How is she?"

"She was in a funk for a little while, but she's doing better now. I sent her after Ruby. Better than expected considering she lost an arm and all her friends at once."

Blake flinched a little when Oren said that.

"Don't worry," continued Oren, "I'm not going to judge you for leaving. It's not my job, besides I get where you're coming from."

"What do you mean by that?"

Oren stopped. He slowly unbuttoned he shirt and opened it. His body was covered in all sorts of tattoos. All sorts of images and colors were inked across his chest. There was more ink than skin on him.

"They're... very beautiful" said Blake, a little confused.

"look again." Said Oren.

Blake looked over his tattoos again, looking for whatever she might've missed. Upon closer inspection she found a long scar. After she found that one scar finding the rest was easy. His body was absolutely rife with scars. Claw marks, bullet wounds, slash wounds, stab wounds, bite marks, the occasional burn, even a few scars that she couldn't identify. Blake was speechless when she realized he was also implying that he had scars like that, not just on his chest, but all over his body.

"I'm probably the world's foremost authority on running from your past." Said Oren, buttoning back up.

"Why are you showing me this?" Asked Blake.

"Because you're a lot like me. You have trouble opening up and trusting others, you've got a troubled past and you run from it. All things I've experienced, the rest of my team as well. I can see it in their eyes, and feel it radiating off of their bodies. I'm gonna let you in on a little secret Blake. No one in Team GHOST has had any kind of decent past, but we help each other. If you isolate yourself then the loneliness just combines with your memories and will drive you absolutely insane, and again I'm speaking from experience. You may not know it, but you need your team. You don't even need to talk about your issues if you're not ready, simply being in someone's presence helps immensely."

"that's not why I left. Adam will hunt down my all my friends just to get to me, the only way I can protect them is by being as far away from them as possible."

"Adam. He is the one who cut Yang's arm off. Leader of the White Fang, correct?"

Blake nodded.

"personally I would've taken the opposite approach. I wouldn't be able to trust that my friends were safe if wasn't right by their side. You must be very afraid of Adam's abilities to have such a reaction."

"I have seen his fighting up close. He is the leader of the White Fang for a reason. On top of that he is a psychopath who's obsessed with me. I just can't put my friends at risk like that." With every word she spoke, she seemed to get more frantic, more afraid.

"Would you stay if he wasn't as powerful?"

"I can't just trust that he is going to lose any power, that's too big a chance."

"It's not about him losing power, or even is becoming more powerful than him. Its about stripping him of his power."

"How can you possibly do that? What can you do to make him less powerful?" Blake asked desperately.

"That is not the point. If I could strip away even a quarter of his power, would you at least consider seeing your friends again?"

"...yes. If you can strip away any of his power at all, then I'll at least meet with my team again."

"I'm gonna warn you, I take promises very seriously, so I'm gonna hold you to what you say. Don't say it if you don't mean it."

"I do mean it." Decided Blake after a little thought. Suddenly a Faunus charged around the corner with a sword. He swung down at Blake, but in the blink of an eye Oren was there. He had blocked the blade with his arm which now had a thick layer of stone over it. He punched the Faunus in the gut with his free hand, and when the Faunus doubled his simply had to bring his stone covered hand down on the faunus's head.

"Cutting off Yang's arm, traumatizing you... I really don't like this Adam character." Growled Oren.

they continued walking the halls until they reached a different looking door. This one had a sort of scanner on the front.

"Authorized personnel only, that's a DNA scanner. It's made to look like a fingerprint scanner and takes a little blood. If you take your finger off before it finishes scanning then it automatically sets off an alarm." Said Blake.

"How would you know that?" Asked Oren.

"You're smart, you tell me."

"Used to be a member of the White Fang?"

"nailed it."

"I thought that was Yang's catchphrase."

Blake grinned as she remembered her teammate.

"so how do you plan to get through?" She asked.

Oren lightly bumped his fists together and walked up to the door. As Blake looked, his hand started to look distorted and fuzzy, as if her eyes couldn't focus on them properly.

"Two hands," Said Oren "One." And he punched the door. Blake couldn't be sure what was happening, as soon as Oren punched the door he put a huge dent in the middle and it made an immense banging noise. Three seconds later the entire door blew backwards off its hinges. Oren walked through into a room of very surprised Faunus.

"WHAT, HOW DID YOU ESCAPE." Shouted a certain familiar Faunus. It was the one who had greeted them when they awoke in their cell.

"Hey, I was wondering if I would run into you again. I need to make a phone call, could you please point out which console I could use." The Faunus started to pull out their weapons and form up, and Oren paid very close attention to where they were standing.

"Have you forgotten, there is still a cloaking device. Even if you managed to beat us, you wouldn't be able to make any communications without a secret code to break through the signal." Said the Faunus. As if on cue a red light started flashing and an alarm started blaring.

"or I could just get rid of the cloaking device." Said Oren. The Faunus ran to a console and saw on the security footage, the cloaking device had indeed short circuited.

"You still don't know which console to use!" Shouted the Faunus.

"Blake, which one do you think it is?" Asked Oren.

"The White Fang isn't exactly cautious. They like to keep all of their data in one place for convenience." Blake responded, realizing where he was going with this.

"just like that data archive they have in this very HQ." Said Oren. When he heard this the Faunus paled.

"Exactly," continued Blake, "so they would probably have all the different programs, like security and communications, all work from the same console."

"So then the correct console is the one our friend just ran to, to check the cameras?"

"Exactly."

the faunus was visibly shaking when he realized his mistake. His men started to surround Oren and Blake.

"KILL THEM" he shouted in a shrill voice.

"Two". Said Oren. It's lucky that Blake remembered what he meant, she jumped out of the way as Oren slammed his second fist into the floor. A shock-wave rippled through the floor, the ground in that room quaked so violently that all the faunus got launched into the air. Oren's fist created a crater on impact, with a 3 foot radius around him. Oren jumped forward slamming two of the faunus into the ground before the shock wave even finished. Blake could only watch in amazement, she had never heard of a dust capable of this (except maybe gravity), so she had to assume it was his semblance. Two faunus stood up and started shooting at him. He crossed his arms in front of him and stone grew over them. The stone shield absorbed the bullets. After that Oren punched the air with both his fists, sending the stone flying at the faunus, knocking them out.

"Blake, would you mind giving me some cover, i need to make a phone call." Blake immediately moved to engage the enemy. Oren calmly walked over to the console where their jailer faunus friend was hiding. He slashed at Oren with a sword, But Oren clapped his hands on the sword, snapping it in two. He then picked up the faunus by the scruff of his coat, and threw him across the room with one hand. Oren used a shock-wave to throw him, blasting him across the room into the wall, denting it. The faunus slid to the floor unconscious. Oren found the number for the spy at the Schnee manor and dialed it.

"This is virus checking in." Said Oren, when somebody answered.

"Why does the caged bird sing?" said a distorted voice on the other end.

"The caged bird sings of freedom"

"ETA 40 seconds"

Oren hung up and ducked when a faunus came flying over him. When he turned around Blake had taken care of the rest of the faunus in the room.

"Are you satisfied?" Asked Oren.

"What do you mean?" asked Blake.

"You said if I took away any of Adam's power at all, that you would see your friends. Is this enough to persuade you."

"I don't exactly see how you harmed Adam that much. Sure this HQ can't be used anymore, but the White Fang have hundreds all over the world."

"I'm well aware of that, but you're looking at this wrong. We are playing a game, the only problem is that the opposing player has been allowed to make too many moves in a row, without retaliation. Infiltrating Beacon, The Breach, The Vytal Tournament and the Fall of Beacon. The enemy has made four moves without even giving us a turn. But now it's our move. See, the number i just dialed was to a spy implanted in the Schnee family mansion. Luckily his scroll had the locations of a great many hideouts and as of that call i made they are all being raided and destroyed." Blake's eyes widened at the implication that Oren was making. At this moment Sam, Thane and Hopper. ran in.

"Looks like we missed quite a party." said Sam.

"Thane, Hopper," said Oren, "I have to congratulate you. Your destruction of the cloaking device, could not have occurred at a more perfect moment. You should have seen our jailers face."

"HAHA we will have to get Grey to show me your memory of it, Glad to have been of service M'lord." Thane said laughing and giving a mock bow.

"Sam, how was your mission?" Asked Oren

"Complete success." Said Sam with a smirk.

"And that specific piece of data i asked you for?"

"All on here." Said Sam holding up his flash-drive.

"Oh you beautiful man." Oren exclaimed giving Sam a hug.

"What specific piece of data?" asked Blake. Oren nodded his head to Sam.

"Very fortunately one of the bits of information i recovered was a complete map of all White Fang hideouts, safe-houses and headquarters in all the four kingdoms." Said Sam.

"You...you mean..." stuttered Blake.

"This is such a brilliant way to start our counter attack Oren. Not only can we completely flush out the White Fang from hiding, but we have cleared them out almost entirely from the whole of Atlas in one single moment." Shouted Thane with Glee.

"But...How..." Blake continued to stammer.

Oren walked over and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Adam, is not untouchable. No one is. Like i said, they have been allowed to have too many turns in this game. and now it's our move." he said.

At that moment a hole exploded in the ceiling, and Atlesian soldiers began dropping in. Along with the rest of Team GHOST.

"So kiddies, how was the field trip?" asked Grey when he landed.

"Aw you know, same old same old." said Sam.

"Looks like you made some new friends." Remarked Helen.

"Oh yes, and i'm sure you'll have plenty of time to get to know them. However I expect Ironwood will want to debrief us." said Oren.

"Of course." sighed Grey.

"Well, let's not keep him waiting."


	13. Chapter 13

Oren was not looking forward to this. He and his team, along with Weiss and Qrow were standing in front of Ironwoods office. Oren had not had a lot of good experiences with men in Ironwoods position, but this conversation couldn't be avoided. They walked inside to Ironwood sitting at his desk and Winter standing over his shoulder as usual.

"I understand you have had quite a busy time." He said.

"Did you enjoy our gift?" Asked Oren.

"I found it most enlightening." Responded Ironwood. "But enough with the niceties. Mission report."

"I'm sorry, I don't remember any of us enlisting in the Atlesian military. Since when do we answer to you?" Asked Qrow.

"Qrow. It's fine. We are all allies against a common enemy here." Said Oren.

Oren took a deep breath and began.

"We discovered a White Fang spy in the Schnee mansion. Apparently Cinder uses a communication method entirely isolated from the CCTS. We used it to call the White Fang to set up an ambush. Our intention was to get captured. Once we were in a prison cell in their main HQ we escaped along with two other captives, a strange man called Hopper, and a cat Faunus named Blake,". Weiss's eyes widened when she heard about Blake, but Oren continued, "They aided us in our objectives. Thane and Hopper managed to shut down a very large cloaking device, which is why you hadn't found their HQ before. Sam managed to find their data archive and copied everything to a flash drive. He copied the files instead of downloading them so that the White Fang wouldn't immediately realize that something was wrong. That won't last very long however. My advice would be to send out messages to other kingdoms as soon as possible. Myself and Blake proceeded to the command center and sent out a signal that started your attack on the safe houses and HQ. You know the rest."

"I will need the flash drive."

"Of course." Said Oren as Sam handed it over.

"Can you vouch for these two other captives you mentioned?"

"Blake was a member of my team at Beacon, I can vouch for her." Spoke up Weiss.

"Hopper is strange. There is something he is not telling us, but it is clear that his intention is not to be our enemy. I can vouch for him." Said Thane.

"Very well," said Ironwood, "you're dismissed."

As they were leaving, Qrow spoke up.

"I really don't like that guy. Why did you give him the flash drive?"

"Think of it this way Qrow, if he is directing his energy at the White Fang then at least he is doing something productive. Besides we have another copy of the flash drive, just in case."

"Always have something up your sleeve." Smiled Thane.

"So what now?" Asked Weiss.

"Well I expect that Ironwood will come up with something for us eventually. If he is smart then he'll consult me about it. Until then I'm gonna go over the data on the flash drive, I suppose the rest of you can relax for awhile." Said Oren.

"Qrow!" Shouted a voice. Winter was approaching from behind.

"What did I do this time ice queen?" Asked Qrow.

"Nothing yet, the General has requested that you deliver this to Vale. It has all the maps and info on the White Fang pertaining to that kingdom." She said holding up a flash drive.

"Oren?" Asked Qrow.

"It's worth at least delivering it to Vale. They might have their hands full trying to fix the CCT right now, but they could certainly use the help. I'll let you and Glynda decide what to prioritize." Said Oren.

"You ain't just trying to get rid of your old man are ya?" Qrow teased.

"Aww you know how much I love spending time with you, but alas that these circumstances must get in our way." Said Oren rolling his eyes.

"Alright prima donna. Be sure to let James know that I'm on my way." Qrow directed that last part to Winter. He then walked off leaving Team GHOST and the Schnee sisters alone.

"Weiss, can we talk for a moment?" Said Winter. Weiss nodded her head and walked off with Her sister.

"Tsur." Whispered Oren. A shadow flashed by and jumped into Weiss's shadow. The Team continued to the Schnee manor and went to one of their rooms to rest up and talk. Oren plugged the extra flash drive into his scroll and began going over the data.

"How we lookin?" Asked Grey.

"The only problem would be vale, they got their hands full trying to repair the CCT and might not have the manpower to deal with the White Fang. The rest of the kingdoms should be done if they combine their military with the local huntsmen." Replied Oren. At that moment Tsur came back and latched onto Sam.

"Apparently, Papa Schnee ain't as kind and welcoming as he would have us believe. He is angry with Weiss for getting involved. He wants her to give up the huntress thing and focus on the SDC. He also is upset that the number of people staying in his house just seems to keep going up." Said Sam.

"It is very possible he could become a problem." Said Thane.

"Maybe, but right now I've got something to do. I'll worry about Mr. Schnee, but later." Said Oren. And with that he left. He perished down the halls of the Schnee Manor until he came to the room she was staying in. He knocked on the door.

" come in." Said a tired sounding voice. Oren opened the door and found Blake, sitting on her bed and staring out the window.

"How are you feeling." Asked Oren.

"Tired. A lot has happened in such a short time."

"Tell me about it. Did you at least get some sleep?"

"Ya I slept like a log. I just woke up."

"You passed out pretty quick after the raid. We had to bring you here while you were asleep."

"Ya I figured, this place is really nice, where are we?"

"Brace yourself"

"Ok?"

"Schnee Mansion."

Blake's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider. It's a good thing she was sitting on the bed,she might've fallen over from the shock.

"Me and my team have been staying here while we conduct our business in Atlas."

"But… But…. But…" Blake started.

"I'll bet, given your unique circumstances that you thought you'd never come here, let alone be the owners guest. And don't worry about that by the way, Mr Schnee doesn't know.

After a few minutes of silence and thought Blake said.

"So… Weiss lives here?"

Oren smiled and said "yes she does. I guess you could say she's been acting as our patron."

"Do you think…". She started but couldn't finish due to choking back tears.

"Do you think you're ready?"

"Yes."

Oren lead Blake through the halls of the Schnee mansion. They found Weiss in the library. When the two laid eyes on each other there was a moment of tension.

"Blake?" Asked Weiss.

"Weiss… I.. I'm sorry I ran." Blake started. But she didn't get the chance when Weiss hugged her.

"Shut up,". Said Weiss crying, "I don't care that you ran. I'm just glad you're back."

"It's good to see you too Weiss." Blake said through her own sobbing, returning the hug.

Oren left them to it. This business no longer concerned him. Oren was to busy worrying about how Cinder was going to retaliate.

*****

Meanwhile in a caravan on their way to Atlas three women and two men were on a phone call and heard some very distressing news.

"WHAT! What do you mean we don't have a presence in Atlas anymore!?" Shouted a Faunus man.

"I mean," said the voice on the phone, "exactly what I said. General Ironwood somehow got Intel and raided every single White Fang location in Atlas. The White Fang doesn't exist in this country anymore."

"How is that even possible!?" Shouted the man again.

"Adam, calm down." Said a girl in a red dress.

"Cinder, how can you possibly be calm right now? This is a disaster!" Shouted

Adam.

"True this is not what I expected. As vexing as it is, our enemy has a new player on their team. And he has made his first move." Said Cinder through a slight growl.

"That'll be that huntsmen we warned you about. He is Incredibly smart. They also know that you're coming. If I know him then it's possible nowhere is safe for the White Fang anymore." Continued the voice on the phone.

"Everyone relax. We just need to think for a moment. First off, we are going to need a place to stay while we are in Atlas. Can you give us a hand with that?" Said Cinder.

"Certainly. ". Said the phone.

"As for those huntsmen, are you excavating those ruins we talked about?"

"Yes."

"The reason we asked you to excavate is because we believe there to be a sealed cave filled with lots of subterranean Grimm. Even a couple species that the world forgot about. Think you can set up a trap there for our intruding huntsmen?"

"I got just the thing. They'll be dead before you get to Atlas."

"Good. We will see you soon." With that Cinder hung up. "What a shame, I would've liked to meet this huntsman. It would be interesting to pick at his mind and see what makes him tick."


	14. Chapter 14

Oren was doing his best to keep an eye on things. Unfortunately when he had Weiss contact Ironwood for the raids, it became a "military" operation. They were all about clearance levels and classified information. Ironwood was willing to share some, but not all. Of course this was frustrating for Oren, when you're a strategist but can't get any information…. Well it makes your job very difficult. When Oren wasn't trying to plan he and his team would go out and relax. It was all very repetitive for a couple of days, until Oren received a letter. It was from those archaeologists Mullberry, and Plum. They had discovered a whole new section of that temple underground. Oren suspected that he wouldn't find any new info, but it was always worth looking. So for a second time Team GHOST found their way to the ruins.

"What do you think?" Asked Grey.

"The letter was from Mullberry and Plum. They don't "work" for Alizarin. I suppose they could be being manipulated, but Helen will be able to sense their intentions." Responded Oren.

Once they arrived Plum greeted them with a friendly

"Hello! It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise, I'm glad you remembered to inform us. I'm sure with this discovery there has been a lot of excitement." Responded Grey.

"Of course. It's not often we see today's youth interested in ancient things like this." Said Plum, leading them down into the ruins. The group went down a staircase that was undiscovered during their prior visit. The staircase lead them deep into the underground. They found Mullberry examining some statues in the newly discovered part of the temple.

"Ah Welcome." Said Mullberry.

"Good to see you again. How's the dig going?" Asked Grey.

"Excellent. We discovered this new segment of the temple only yesterday. There are tons of rooms and corridors that we haven't explored yet."

"Good, maybe I'll finally discover something new." Said Oren.

"The most fascinating thing isn't the new rooms though." Said Plum leading them towards a large set of double doors. Before following Plum, Oren checked with Helen, she confirmed that Plum and Mullberry had no ill intent. When Plum opened the double doors, the group found themselves in a massive cave. That expanded in approximately a one mile diameter in a perfect circle around the temple.

"What in the world is this?" Asked Grey.

"We don't yet know. All we know is that it's man made." Responded Plum.

"Are you saying that this temple was built underground?"

"So far it appears that way."

While Grey continued talking to Plum, Oren started walking off into the cave. He wasn't feeling quite right. He could feel something coming from a specific direction in the cave. It was very faint but It was there. It was so faint in fact, that he didn't expect Helen to notice it. The only reason Oren noticed it is because it felt familiar. He made it all the way to the wall of the cave. He pressed his hand to the wall. He was confused now, because he could feel something coming from the other side of the wall, but also from somewhere to his right. He recognized both of these feelings, but couldn't figure out what they were, Neither of them could possibly be down here. Up closer to the wall, it wasn't as smooth as it looked from afar. There were also small boulders and rocks lined up across the entire wall.

"Is something wrong?" Asked Mullberry, who had followed Oren.

"I'm not sure. Something doesn't feel right." Responded Oren.

"Maybe you just need some air, Alizarin did say that it was easy for people to feel claustrophobic in this cave."

"Speaking of Alizarin, where is she now?"

"Oh she's at a meeting. Apparently some very important people are coming to town tomorrow."

"I see."

"She does send her regards though."

"So she knows we are visiting?" Oren began sweating a little.

"It was her idea. Plum and myself thought that you might want to wait until we actually discover something, but she recommended we invite you, just the day after we discovered this cave."

At this point Oren was hyper alert. He started paying attention to these feelings he was having. Instead of figuring out why these feelings were down here and focused more on what they were. He figured out what one of them was, right in the other side of the cave wall was Grimm. A massive herd of them. But the other feeling he still couldn't quite place. It was contempt, hatred, rage, and sorrow. Grimm, while being attracted to those emotions, were incapable of feeling them. This was pushed from his mind immediately when,

"Do you hear that?" Oren asked Plum.

"Hear what?"

"Be quiet for a second." There it was again. An almost imperceptible beeping noise. Oren started following the noise and digging under rocks. He found what he was looking for. A bomb on a timer was attached to the cave wall, with the time about 20 seconds from detonating. With the Grimm on the other side of the wall it didn't take much effort to put two and two together.

"TRAP". Oren shouted at the top of his lungs. He jumped away from the bomb right as it exploded. Oren got hit by the main blast, but luckily his semblance gave him a certain advantage when dealing with explosives. Mullberry was not so lucky. While he was far enough away from the blast, he was still in range of the shrapnel. A rock struck him in the head knocking him unconscious. The explosion blasted a huge hole in the cave wall, and a huge herd of Grimm were on the other side. Oren immediately picked up Mullberry and ran towards the temple.

Grey had heard Oren shout and saw the explosion. His eyes widened when he saw Oren carrying Mullberry and being chased by a herd of Grimm. He ordered everyone out of the temple. Oren was reaching the temple door as everyone else was making their way up to the surface. Sam and Thane were having to drag Plum, who had seen Mullberry in Oren's arms.

Oren was about to make his way up to the surface when he heard what sounded like cackling. Another explosion went off in the stairs to the surface. The ceiling collapsed, sealing Oren and Mullberry In the underground temple.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The team has to deal with a cave in at a ruined temple.

"Shit shit shit." Muttered Thane while pacing frantically, "What are we gonna do?"

"Could Tsur get in and shadow travel them out?" asked Helen.

"He's a shadow, he can't phase through solid rock. There are no openings in that rubble." Snapped Sam.

"Everybody chill out. Oren always says that panicked brains make mistakes. What do we know? None of our semblances can really help us except for Oren. He could potentially dig himself out." Said Grey.

"Oren also says that the job of a strategist is to assume the worst. We need to assume he has his hands full with the Grimm." Said Helen

"OK so we assume that he is unable, for whatever reason, to free himself. That means we need to dig or blast the rubble from out here. We don't have the equipment so we need to contact someone who does."responded Grey.

Helen knew what he was doing. He was speaking calmly and logically while breaking up their task. He took what could have been a monumental mission and turned it into baby steps so that it didn't seem so overwhelming. That was why Grey was the leader and not Oren. Oren could deal with tactics and strategy like no other, but Grey knew how to deal with people. Still, although he spoke calmly, Helen could feel fear radiating off of him.

"This is a dig site, we have some machinery for this specific purpose." Spoke Plum. They had forgotten about his presence.

"Are you OK?" Asked Grey.

"Physically yes…. But half of me is still in that cave."

"Don't worry. Mullberry is with Oren. He is one of our strongest fighters, who specializes in fighting enemies of great numbers. I have 100% percent confidence that Mullberry will be fine." Said Helen.

"The earlier fear in your voice betrays that confidence."

"Of course I'm worried, but that's only natural. Sometimes it helps to remind ourselves of just who Oren is. He is the ultimate strategist, who has never had a plan go awry. His cunning has been called demonic by his enemies." Started Helen.

"He wields a semblance of shock-waves. He creates tremors and shatters boulders when he fights. He can also use these shock-waves to shield himself and his allies." Continued Thane, who was starting to smile again.

"He has extremely thick flesh, dense muscles, and tough bones. His body is like a mountain in its resilience. As a result, he is the only known person to ever utilize dust by tattooing it into his own skin. He has made himself into a living weapon." Added Sam.

"He has learned every style of hand to hand combat, just for the sake of confusing his enemies by switching mid battle. He is the strategist, and the earth shaker. He is Oren, the Shock and Awe. And he will definitely put Mullberry's well being before his own." Finished Grey.

As they were finishing this speech, they were all dumbstruck when Grey's scroll started buzzing.

*****

Oren didn't have time to think, he just had to find somewhere safe for the moment. There was only one direction to go, so he took off deeper into the temple, through mazes of hallways and hundreds of unexplored rooms. The Grimm followed him. He kept ducking around corners until he couldn't see them behind him anymore. He quickly ducked into a room and locked the door before they picked up his trail. By pure luck he seemed to have found himself in an armory. There were racks of spears, swords, shields, all of them quite primitive looking. Oren put Mullberry down on a stack of crates. Mullberry was bleeding from a wound on his head, so Oren had to act fast. He took off his vest and shirt. He started ripping his shirt into one long strip. He wrapped it around Mullberry's wound. It wasn't the greatest job, and Oren didn't have any way to clean the wound, but it would at least help stop the bleeding. Now all he had to worry about was if the Grimm found them. All they had to do was relax and the Grimm wouldn't be drawn to their negative emotions. Oren took a second to look around the room. He couldn't blast the rubble with his semblance without the risk of a bigger cave in. Even if he could he would still have to fight his way through an army of Grimm, not to mention there was still that unknown feeling he never discovered the origin of. Oren jerked wildly when he heard the most unexpected thing he could have. His scroll started ringing. He checked the screen, which had a picture of Glynda's face. He immediately answered.

"Hello?"

"Oren, we got the CCT back up."

"You have no idea how good it is to hear your voice right now."

"What's your situation?"

"Oh I'm trapped in an underground temple with a civilian and an army of Grimm."

"…. I'm sorry I asked."

Suddenly Oren remembered what Mullberry said about Alizarin and her important people coming to town.

"GLYNDA! Cinder is here in Atlas. You need to send reinforcements."

"What? We are on our way."

"NO!"

"But you said you needed reinforcements."

"I just need you to send one team."

"What about me?"

"I need you to stay in Vale."

"But if Cinder is there she could lead us to Ozpin."

"Glynda, I need you to stay in Vale. With Ozpin missing you are the only one who can lead the huntsmen there. You still need to use the data Qrow brought you to get rid of the white fang. You are the only one I can trust to lead without me or Ozpin."

"…OK. What team should I send?"

"I'll leave that up to you. Also I need you to contact Ruby and have her team come to Atlas. Ask them to bring an additional team from Haven academy as well."

"Got it, anything else?"

"Just update me if anything important happens."

"Alright. Good luck with your…. Situation"

Oren hung up. He took a brief moment of elation to revel in the fact that communications are back up. Then he called Grey.

"…hello?" Asked Grey.

"So I've got good news and bad news." Said Oren.

"Bad news first."

"Mullberry is knocked out, though I did do a basic first aid job on him. I can't get us out of here without the risk of further collapse. And I have an army of Grimm down here."

"Good news?"

"Mullberry is alive, I am unharmed, and Glynda managed to get the CCTS up and running again."

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"One more thing…. There's an unknown down here. An unaccounted variable."

"How should we proceed?"

"You concentrate on getting us out. I'll handle the unknown."

"Just one question."

"Whassup?"

"How are you getting a signal down there?"

"I have no idea, but that's a problem for once we get out of here."

"Alright. See you soon."

With that they hung up. Oren had to take a moment to think about his position. When a lot of stuff happens at once then it helps to slow down and take stock of the situation. You don't need to think on the fly all the time. He was interrupted by a weak voice saying

"We're you just on your scroll?" It was Mullberry, he had woken up.

"Ya, looks like communication is back up."

"Good, maybe I can call my brother and check on him. He was in Vale when the fall happened."

"Really? What does he do?" So far Oren was impressed by how calm Mullberry seemed.

"He's a professor at Beacon, his name is Peter."

"Surely you can't be talking about the bombastic storyteller Professor Peter Port?" Said Oren with a smile.

"That's him. I haven't seen him in awhile, but we still keep in touch." Chuckled Mullberry.

"It's a small world isn't it."

"It certainly is."

They took a moment to enjoy the small amount of happiness, before the seriousness of their situation hit them again.

"How bad is it?" Asked Mullberry.

"The others are going to try and dig us out. They are all safe, including Plum."

"Thank Oum."

"We are at the moment trapped. Our only problem is surviving until they get us out."

"This cavern and temple is huge. There is plenty of air down here. I'm sure that whoever built this would've made some form of ventilation to the surface for this exact reason."

"That's good to hear. Now the only thing we have to worry about is the army of Grimm trapped with us."

"What was your thinking?"

"well, killing Grimm is my job."

"You can't be serious."

"There's a lot of Grimm out there. Once our friends dig us out the Grimm are going to have an opening into the city. We can't have a repeat of Vale. Besides, my fighting style is perfect for taking on hordes of enemies."

"You will go regardless of what I think won't you."

"Yes… Besides I need you to keep an eye on this." Oren said Throwing Mullberry his orange denim vest.

"What for?"

"That vest is the last memento of my parents. Every time I grow out of it I get it tailored to fit me again. I'll have to come back to you for that vest won't I? That's a promise. In the meantime, you just need to stay here and stay calm. No negative emotions at all, OK?"

"OK"

Oren grabbed one of the faded drapes and started loading it with those primitive weapons from the arsenal. Once he had a decent bag of weapons, he hoisted it over his back and started walking out of the temple.

"You didn't tell him the real reason your fighting the Grimm did you?" Said the voice in Oren's head, who had been quiet for a time.

"The best lies have a sprinkle of truth to them. I told him some of the truth, not all of it." Responded Oren.

"What's the rest of the truth then?"

"That in order to protect Mullberry I need to pull the Grimm's aggression on me."

"So that means I can't help then?"

"No. If you take over then the Grimm will ignore me. I need them to be blind to everything but me."

"You realize this is a suicide mission right?"

"You know me, I always welcome an opportunity to die." Said Oren sarcastically.

"Damn you're morbid! Are you still on that?"

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna do anything stupid."

As they were walking down the corridors they noticed the paintings on the wall. Oren decided to take a slight detour to follow them (after all he may never get this chance again). He followed until he reached a large circular chamber. All over the walls were paintings and murals. At first he saw the standard stuff about the Grimm and discovery of Dust. He was about to leave when he saw something else, a mural of an old man and four young women.

"The four maidens?" Oren asked. He then took a closer look at the walls and saw that thy were littered with all kinds of stories, many of them were fairy-tales. He saw a mural that represented a story of silver eyed warriors. But it was the mural on the ceiling that caught his attention. The Grimm, a huge host of them and a person in a shadowy cloak with no discernible features seemed to be leading them. the strange part was just under the figure were four more people kneeling. 

"What on earth?" Asked Oren.

"It looks like you got the "new" that you are looking for." Said the voice

"Nothing about dust though. and I've never heard of that story on the ceiling?"

"Do we have time for this?"

"Regrettably not." Oren used his scroll to take pictures of every thing before he continued on his way.

Once he was far enough away from Mullberry he started getting himself angry in order to attract the Grimm. Grimm started coming from all inside the temple and began following him. He made his way to the big double doors and waded through the Grimm. They parted to allow him passage. He continued until he was standing in the big cave a decent distance from the temple.

"They've surrounded us." Said the voice. And it was true, Oren could turn all directions and see naught but Grimm.

"They haven't surrounded us," responded Oren, "they've given us a 360 degree kill-zone"

Oren dropped his makeshift bag of weapons and untied the the knot. Then he picked up a sword and a spear, for the first time he noted how the weapons were made of some kind of bone. He bumped both his fists together and got in a battle stance. He was humming a tune that sounded suspiciously like "I May Fall". The Grimm charged.

Oren threw the spear using his shock-waves to propel it. It punctured right through a Beowolves mouth. He quickly grabbed another weapon, an axe, and charged at the Grimm. An Ursa swung at him, he blocked with the sword and slashed across its stomach with the axe. He chucked both the axe and sword in two separate directions impaling two more Grimm. It was time to start using dust. He started contracting specific muscles and his green tattoos started glowing. He began punching the air, sending sharp stone projectiles flying at his enemies. More and more Grimm fell. He used lightning dust to send electricity arcing through dozens of Grimm. He used used ice dust to freeze his multitudes of them in their tracks. He would spew fire from his mouth or send explosive balls of Fire at his enemies. All while returning to his pile of weapons to hurl them at more enemies. He fought for what felt like days. He couldn't believe how slow time passed when you were in battle.

Eventually the Grimm advance stopped.

"What's going on?" Asked the voice

"I don't know, but if I had to guess, I would say it's got something to do with that unknown." Replied Oren.

The Grimm (who had drastically reduced in number) began to part. What appeared to be a Beowulf was walking through the crowd, but this one was different. It walked straight up on two legs, it's arms were a bit shorter than a normal Beowulf, and it didn't have any spikes, only plates of bone covering its body.

"Never make the first strike". Whispered Oren.

The Grimm attacked. But instead of a wild slash he… punched. Oren blocked and countered. The Grimm also blocked, and countered. Suddenly Oren was fighting this Grimm in martial style combat, and the Grimm was good. Oren had a lot of thoughts going through his head. How could a Grimm move like a man, how could a Grimm learn how to fight? The Grimm punched at Oren, but Oren caught its fists. They were at a stalemate. Oren was looking into the creatures eyes.

"What are you?" Oren asked

"Kill…..Target." Responded the Grimm. Oren was so surprised that he dropped his guard. The creature slashed across his chest. Oren jumped backward, bleeding from the claw marks across his chest.

"How the fuck can that Grimm speak!" Shouted Oren.

"You need to retreat". Said the voice

"I can't. They need to focus on me."

"You have been fighting for hours, this thing is fresh. On top of that you don't have an aura which is almost a basic level of protection. You can't win."

"I don't need to win I just need to not lose."

Oren switched to a much more defensive style. Again he was caught off guard when the creature began to grow long bone blades out of his arms. Oren did the only thing he could, he used earth dust to coat his arms in rock after all he would have to block somehow.

"Oren, you and I both know what this thing is. You don't have the emotional stability to fight this thing and make rational decisions."

"I know that, but the other Grimm have backed off. I just need to focus on not dying. I can do that."

"What makes you so confident that you can win. Oh I'm sorry not win, "survive"."

"Because I promised Mullberry I would get my jacket back from him."

"….you did promise didn't you….Fine I'll keep an eye on the other Grimm with my senses"

"Thank you."

With that the Grimm attacked, and Oren charged to meet him.

*****

They had been digging for just under four hours. They had finally almost busted through to the temple. At some point Grey made a call to Ironwood to alert him of a potential Grimm threat. A large group of soldiers and mechs arrived on the scene (no robots though, probably due to what happened in Vale.). When they first arrived, the commanding officer had tried to get them to stop digging, prioritizing the people in the city over the two trapped in the cave. Obviously team GHOST wasn't having any of that, so Thane sprayed him with a very special gas. The officer was now laying in the grass somewhere drooling. Thane assured them

"Don't worry, he's having the time of his life right now. If he starts to have a bad trip, let me know and I'll give him a sedative."

The rest of the soldiers had no problem trying to rescue the people trapped in the cave and the mechs were surprisingly useful for digging (which greatly shortened the process.). They finally got the thing opened and prepared to go down.

"Everyone be careful. There is confirmed Grimm activity down there. Keep the heavy ordinance up here and watch the mouth of the cave. If your equipped for close quarters combat, then come with us." Shouted Grey. With that, team ghost and a battalion of soldiers proceeded down into the temple. Once they were deep enough down Grey tried contacting Oren via telepathy. All he got in response was the image of a map in his head. Grey followed the map and found what looked like an armory. Sitting in a corner was Mullberry. A soldier immediately carried him back up to the surface.

"It's too quiet." Said Sam. Grey quickly tried contacting Oren again.

"OK Oren. We got Mullberry, but where are you?" This time there was no response.

"He isn't answering me." Said Grey.

"I think I know where he is. I can feel him." Said Helen. The group followed Helen back to the room with the double doors just in time to see Oren come flying through them. The soldiers started to engage the Grimm on the other side of the door. Team GHOST rushed to Oren's side.

"Are you OK? What happened?" Asked Helen.

Oren (who had just noticed their presence) grabbed Grey by his shirt and pulled him close. He was communicating telepathically with Grey. After a few seconds Oren passed out. Grey calmly stood up.

"I need someone to take Oren. He needs medical attention." Two soldiers rushed over and picked up Oren, carrying him away from danger.

"Sam and Thane, you two have a side mission." Continued Grey.

"What would that be." Asked Sam.

Grey pointed at a different looking Beowulf in the horde of Grimm.

"You are going to capture that Grimm."

"What for?" Asked Thane.

"I don't know, but Oren managed to communicate two things to me. That, Grimm is responsible for his condition. And that he considers that Grimm to be the single most important thing in Remnant right now."

"Then I guess we don't have much of a choice." Said Thane smiling. Thane charged in front of the soldiers and used his broom to unleash a large blast of anesthetic gas. The Grimm were lost amid that sea of gas including the Special Grimm. Sam sent Tsur into the gas, Tsur found the special Grimm and absorbed it into his shadow and came back to Sam.

"I don't think we should let the military know that we have this prisoner yet." Suggested Helen. "Oren is going to want to deal with it personally."

"I agree. Sam, go back to the Schnee mansion and find a place we can keep this thing. Weiss can help I'm sure." Said Grey.

Sam left to try and contain the creature. The rest of Team GHOST stayed to help mop up the remaining Grimm. Once it was dealt with, Ironwood arrived and debriefed them and sent them on their way. It would be three days before Oren woke up.


	16. Chapter 16

Alizarin and Amaranth walked into the meeting to what seemed like chaos. A boy faunus in red and black was yelling at another young boy in silver.

"WHY SHOULD I CALM DOWN. MY PEOPLES PRESENCE DOESN'T EXIST IN THIS KINGDOM ANYMORE." He was yelling.

"Quit being such a drama queen Adam." Said the other boy nonchalantly. "We already started countermeasures."

"Mercury, the flames of revolution are fickle. They cannot be allowed to die. If the White Fang continues to lose momentum,"

"They won't." Interrupted Cinder. Alizarin and Amaranth had heard a lot about Cinder, but they were quite surprised upon seeing her. She had a horrible burn scar over one eye and when she spoke it was very strained and rough.

"You need to have more faith in our leader Adam." Continued Cinder.

"I trust Salem completely."

"don't say her name!" Even with her weak voice, cinder still held a commanding presence.

"Sounds like the odd couple is fighting." Alizarin chimed in.

"Ahh our new potentials." Said Cinder. "I am eager to see the fruits of your research."

"We can't wait to show you. We hope you'll include us in your future endeavors."

"We'll see. Did you take care of that Huntsmen?"

"We made sure to check everything. He died in his bed of his injuries. They even had a funeral pyre."

"Why is everybody so dramatic here?" asked Mercury.

"Excellent." Is all Cinder said.

*****

Oren's Eyes slowly started to open. He was laying on a very soft bed. He couldn't remember anything.

"Good to see you awake." Said a voice, Oren turned his head and saw a strange man in what looked like a bird mask. The man must've noticed Oren's confused look because he said,

"You have been asleep for three days, your brain just needs a moment to reboot."

The man was correct, memories started slowly filtering back to Oren.

"You're... Hopper, right?" He asked.

"Yes that's right,". Hopper smiled, "what else do you remember?"

"I remember the temple. Is Mullberry alright?"

"Yes he is in the hospital resting."

"I remember that strange Grimm. Did they get it?"

"Yes, it's our captive now."

"Where is Grey, I need to speak with him."

"He is with the others. He and the team have been modifying the creatures makeshift cell. It's quite impressive. Are you alright?" Hopper asked, noticing that Oren had paled.

"How long did you say I've been asleep again?"

"Three days."

The entire house rattled with Oren's scream of rage. Many of the staff could've sworn it was a small earthquake. Oren immediately jumped out of bed and started tromping through the halls.

"Three fucking days are you serious?" Shouted Oren.

"Is there a problem?" Asked Hopper, who was struggling to keep up with Oren's pace.

"That three days is time I could've been thinking, plotting, strategizing, or doing anything productive. But SLEEPING?!"

"I guess this, is why they had me be the one to explain that to you". Hopper said sarcastically.

"I don't even like sleep to begin with. They know that I get night terrors! I only give myself the bare minimum of sleep for a reason! If my body didn't require it then I wouldn't sleep at all."

"Well unfortunately, as Day 5 taught us, you can't survive without sleep."

"Grey has seriously underestimated my ability to bitch him out. His ears will be bleeding by the time I'm done with him."

"Speaking of which, do you actually know where you're going?"

Oren realized he had been stomping around with no real destination in mind and stopped suddenly. Hopper walked right into Oren's back. Oren turned and said in a calm voice.

"Hopper, would you please lead me to my Team?" Oren asked blushing slightly.

"Gladly."

*****

After about an hour of walking around they were at Atlas's docks.

"Weiss recommended this dock specifically because its abandoned. It used to belong to her family, but after a fire the company closed it down. Nobody comes here anymore."

Hopper led Oren into the warehouse where he saw his team, Weiss and Blake huddled around a shipping container.

"GREY!" Oren shouted as soon as he saw him.

Grey heaved a very audible sigh before saying. "Yes Oren?"

"Who the hell thought it would be a good idea for me to sleep for three damn days?"

"You were injured, your body needed to recover, especially since you don't have an aura." Upon hearing this, Blake and Weiss's expressions changed to that of shock, however Oren didn't notice and kept on his tirade.

"My body is perfectly capable of recovering while I'm awake, at least I could do some planning then."

"The body recovers faster while you're asleep. Everyone knows that. It was the most efficient way to heal."

"Did you know that Cinder is now here in Atlas? She has had three days to plot and set up god knows what, without my mind planning any counters. She probably already knows that I'm alive. And is planning for it."

"Maybe not."

"...what did you do?"

"You were never treated in a hospital, the Schnee's personal doctor treated you. Once he was done we had him forge your death certificate. Ironwood, the Schnee family and even the staff are all in on it. We even had a funeral for you two days ago."

"... And you're certain Cinder doesn't know?"

"Cinder got here when?"

"The day of the ambush."

"Then if Alizarin and Amaranth believe you're dead..."

"Then that's what they're going to tell Cinder..."

"We even made sure that all of the Staff and security were cleared. There are no more moles in this mansion to leak the info."

Oren's demeanor changed completely. He grabbed grey and lifted him off the ground in a great big bear hug.

"Grey I forgive you." He said.

"Gee thanks." Smiled Grey, rolling his eyes.

"The element of surprise is one of the best and easiest ways to defeat an enemy."

"Well now that that's settled, I'm quite curious as to what this thing is." Said Hopper.

"Yes I suppose it's something we should deal with." Responded Oren. Grey opened the shipping crate and Oren walked inside. The Grimm had multiple manacles around its wrists, ankles, neck and waist. The manacles were all padlocked.

"Tell me about your security measures." Said Oren.

"The padlocks each have a different key. We split up those keys among our team and various allies. I also have the key to the actual crate. It can't get out without all of our consent."

"What's to stop someone picking the locks?"

"There is a small laser grid implemented in the keyholes of the locks. The grid will melt anything that goes through including the keys. This grid needs to be disabled with the device that we have given to Hopper."

"And if someone decides to just break in?"

"There are special small nozzles all over the inside of the crate. They are all pressurized and each contain a small amount of a very dense and powerful knockout gas, supplied by Thane. The padlocks and manacles are constantly sending an ""all clear"" signal to these nozzles. The door is also mechanized and receiving this same signal. This system is designed so that if even one of the locks or manacles is broken, it's stops sending the signal. In this case the crate shuts and locks, and the nozzles spray this gas into the crate, rendering anyone inside unconscious. It also ensures that if they have allies to open the crate from the outside, they get a face full of this gas wafting out at them the minute the crate is opened."

"Impressive. For something Jerry-rigged at least. Have you started interrogating it?"

"Yes but, it's mind is in shambles. Every time I try to read him I just get things in jumbles, no chronological order, even half-forgotten memories. I don't know what this thing has been through, but it's brain is barely capable of functioning."

All conversation stopped when they heard what sounded like sniffing.

"I smell...". Said a guttural feral voice. Everyone hushed and slowly looked at the Grimm creature. The creature was growling and drooling from the edges of his mouth.

"I smell... the target." He repeated. He started struggling against his restraints. Grey and Helen immediately ran over to it. Helen put a hand over its heart and Grey put a hand over its head.

"Who is the target?" Asked Helen.

"Is now really the best time?" Asked Thane.

"This is the only response we ever gotten in two days." Said Grey

"Who is the target?" Repeated Helen

"... Oren ... Coquelicot". Snarled the creature.

"We are triggering some of his memories. He was sent by Alizarin to kill Oren. Apparently, he pissed them off with his stunt at the white fang HQ." Said Grey.

"Your smell...I remember...". Said the creature, but the tone had changed. It was now one of confusion.

"Darkness...cold...sadness and pain..."

"Guys... I can't make sense of the memories I'm seeing. They're flashing by too quickly, cages, children, what I think was an operating table and... Ah!" Grey recoiled and took his hand off the Grimm. Helen also recoiled from the Grimm.

" Are you guys OK?" Asked Thane.

" This thing...it..." started Helen.

"It's not a Grimm." Finished Grey. "It can't be."

"Then what is it?" asked Blake

"I think... it used to be human." Said Helen. Suddenly the Grimm creature started screaming. Cries of anguish and pain. Everyone had to cover their ears. Hopper closed the door to the crate.

"That's quite enough of that!" He said.

"What on earth was all that ruckus?" Said a new voice. Oren whipped around as fast as he could. A boy was standing there in a suit with slick white hair.

"WHITLEY! What are you doing here!?" Shouted Weiss

"I was asked to keep an eye on what you and our guests were up to." He responded

"You've been spying on me?!"

"No... well yes. But you know how Winter is, I couldn't refuse her, even if she does drive me crazy."

"Winter? Not Jacques?" Interjected Oren.

"Yes Winter. Dear father doesn't really have any interest in your affairs, he's got his hands busy with that charity thing."

"I suppose you will be reporting to Winter now? And there is nothing I can say to convince you otherwise?"

"Yes and no."

"... Very well, make your report. But along with that information please have her set up a meeting with myself and Ironwood the day after tomorrow."

"...Umm,". Started Whitley (who obviously wasn't accustomed to being ordered around). He looked towards Weiss for reassurance, who simply nodded her head.

"Sure." Said Whitley uncertainly. Who then walked off back towards the mansion.

"Weiss who was that?" Asked Blake.

"Whitley, my brother." Said Weiss.

"Which reminds me, Sam, could you please have Tsur follow him?" Said Oren.

"Of course, but may I ask why?" Responded Sam.

"The boy is a Schnee. He seems to have followed us without an escort. I would like to know he makes it home safe."

Tsur took off after Whitley.

"So what, are we just going to give this thing to Ironwood?" Asked Thane.

"Of course not."

"Then what is the meeting for?"

"First because having a meeting set up will make him believe we want to give him this creature. He will arrive with a much cooler head than if we had just continued to withhold this information. Second, I think we should take this time to make it clear what our relationship with Ironwood is."

"So why the day after tomorrow?" Asked Weiss.

""It buys us a day to work with the creature uninterrupted." Replied Grey.

"Grey, Helen,". Said Oren, "you said this thing used to be human. Do you think the two of you could repair his broken mind?"

"We could try. Between both of our semblances, it might take some time, but I think we could do it." Said Helen.

"We've got one day to get something presentable. Let's get to work." Said Grey.


	17. Chapter 17

That night and all through the next day and night Helen and Grey stayed with the creature. Sam and Thane would bring them food and drink to keep up their strength. Apparently the creature was beginning to form coherent sentences and started remembering certain things, but nothing clear yet. Oren was alone in his room on his scroll when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in". Said Oren. Weiss and Blake entered.

"How can I help you?" Asked Oren.

"We just had some questions. That we were hoping you could answer." Said Weiss

"Ya, we were hoping to understand you better." Continued Blake.

"What questions?" Asked Oren.

"When you were yelling at Grey he said something about you not having an aura, how does that even happen?" Asked Weiss.

"I was born with a very rare condition in which my body is incapable of producing an aura. There are less than 10 people on the globe who have this condition."

"So how did you become a huntsmen?" Asked Blake.

" I trained harder. Yang and Ruby could tell you stories of how hard I trained. I had to adapt my style to defend my body instead of relying purely on aura, but you have seen me fight. Do I seem incapable to you?"

Blake shook her head.

"How are you on a 5-man team? That's never happened in the history of the academies." Asked Weiss.

"I got accepted into the academy two years early, however it was also a week late. The Teams had already been chosen. Ozpin found the team that he thought would best accommodate both my style and a 5th member, Team GHST. They did have a penchant for not following the status quo and I think rules are meant to be... not necessarily broken, but changed as the situation calls for it."

"How... did you get all those scars?" Asked Blake. Oren's faced darkened, it was so subtle that she almost missed it, and Weiss missed it completely.

"Well what can I say, being a huntsman is dangerous." He said.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Thane came in.

"Oh sorry am I interrupting something?" He asked.

"No of course not, we were just finishing up." Said Oren. Blake took that as a sign that he didn't like the direction those questions were going.

"Grey and Helen have made some progress. You should come see."

"Good. Maybe we can finally get something done."

*****

"What do we got?" Asked Oren once he arrived. Helen and Grey were both sitting on the floor of the warehouse. They were breathing heavily and sweating.

"It's coherent now, and much more docile. It's cooperating to an extent and can form basic sentences. It also is starting to put its memories back together. It's presentable progress at least." Gasped Grey.

"Alright, id like to see it. Thane, would you mind recording this conversation?"

They opened the crate and the creature was laying there breathing heavily. Thane took out his scroll while Oren stood over it.

"Can you understand me?" Oren asked.

"Yes." Panted the creature.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Atlas, beyond that no."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty"

"You're being awfully cooperative for a captive."

"I'm beginning to remember. I don't like the people who did this to me. Less than i like you, at least."

"What else do you remember?"

"I remember my home fell to bandits. I was kidnapped. I was only 10. They kept us in cages. Everyday we would through 'tests'. I remember the operating table. They never knocked us out before they operated."

Helen looked at Oren. He had paled and looked like he was going to be sick. But he continued.

"For what purpose?"

"They wanted to break us. An army of mindless psychotic, powerful half-breed beasts."

"How many of you are there?"

"Hundreds, all the people who captured the same time as me are all... like me, now. They keep capturing more though, every time a town falls they send their people to find survivors. As a result everyone in the town is presumed dead, so no one goes looking for them."

"Can you name the people who did this to you? And who sent you to kill me?"

"Alizarin and Amaranth."

"...do you remember your name?"

"...no"

"Alright. I'm going to leave you here OK?"

"Yes". Said the beast. He spoke in a tired voice.

After the crate closed Oren approached Helen and Grey.

"How is he?"

"He is getting better, but is still having trouble piecing his memories together. He also is prone to mood swings and outbursts, emotionally he is unstable." Said Grey.

"But it is possible to...". Oren trailed off.

"Cure him?... I suppose. Given enough time. Keep in mind though, we would not be able to turn him completely human again, only give him mental and emotional stability. He is also still very driven by instinct."

"Good. I think it's time we went back to the mansion, Ironwood will be here any minute."

Helen was taking a well deserved nap, while Oren waited in Mr. Schnee's study. Grey, Sam and Thane were left guarding the creature. It was a few moments before Klein led Ironwood into the study.

"Oren, good to see you." He said. Oren was not fooled, he didn't even need to sense Ironwoods emotions to tell he was... upset.

"You as well." Was all Oren said. Klein, Jacques and Weiss were looking between the two nervously, as if waiting for someone to make the first strike.

"As I understand, you have some sort of captive that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Yes, this 'creature could have some very good insight into our enemies."

"I should like to see it."

"Of course."

Oren led Ironwood down to the docks. Winter had now joined the procession. On the way there, Oren filled in Ironwood on their discoveries about this creature. When they arrived they found Thane, Sam, and Grey (who did have the key to the actual crate, after all) standing guard.

"Open it." Said Ironwood. When nobody made a move to obey he repeated in a more frustrated tone. "Open it." Nobody moved until Oren said,

"Grey, would you please open the crate?"

"Sure." Responded Grey, getting up and unlocking the crate. Ironwood stepped inside, and examined the creature.

"I assume you have a good reason to have hidden this creature from me?" He said.

"You could say that." Replied Oren coldly.

"Alright, Winter get some troops together, we'll take this thing and move it somewhere more secure." Started Ironwood

"No you won't." Interjected Oren. The air grew still, and you could have heard a pin drop. Ironwood's face darkened.

"What was that?" He asked.

"You won't be taking this creature." Repeated Oren.

"And why not?"

"I wanna make a few things clear here Jim. We are not your soldiers. We are not in the Atlesian military and we do not answer to you. In fact since our school was destroyed and Ozpin is missing, then we answer to ourselves. You don't get to order us around."

"I am the headmaster of Atlas Academy and the General of the Atlesian military, you will respect me!"

"I don't give a flying fuck! I don't live in Atlas and I don't attend your academy, I don't answer to you."

"Even so I am your best chance at fighting Cinder and the White Fang!"

"Really? Last I checked you had made zero progress on fighting them and it wasn't until my team got involved that you managed to accomplish anything. And as thanks you locked the data that my team recovered away from me and tried to abandon me and a civilian to a horde of Grimm."

"I didn't want to risk the lives of all the citizens of Atlas for two people."

"Did you have the same sentiment when you came to Vale?"

"Of course I did!"

"Then what made you think bringing an army of robots was a good idea? You feared this enemy enough to bring an entire fleet, but you didn't think they had the capability to hack into your robots?"

Ironwood had seriously lost his cool by now. He grabbed Oren by the scruff and said

"Listen you." But he never finished the sentence, in less than a moment Thane and Sam had drawn their weapons, and Grey had his weapon, in punt gun form aimed at Ironwoods head.

"I think a punt gun at this range would shred right through your aura." Said Grey, "let him go."

Ironwood held on just a little longer, considering his options. He let go of Oren slowly when he realized it was just him and Winter, who probably wouldn't be able to beat almost all of Team GHOST plus Hopper.

"There's no reason we can't compromise." Said Oren.

"What did you have in mind?"

"You can take the whole crate and move it to a more secure location if you like. But me and my team, are to be given highest level clearance in regards to this creature. Helen and Grey will show up consistently to try and heal this thing."

"Heal it?"

"Ya, this thing used to be full blooded human. They sort of... broke its mind, so in order to get any useful info out of it we need to fix it. It has already expressed that it dislikes the people who did this to it more than it dislikes us."

"Can I see it?"

"Certainly."

Grey opened the crate and Ironwood saw the creature for the first time. He was taken aback by how... off it looked.

"We've already interrogated it somewhat, but it's a bit difficult."

"It can speak?"

"It can also hear every word you're saying." Interrupted the creature.

"Thane recorded the interrogation he's sending it to you now". Continued Oren.

"Right...". Said Ironwood, who seemed a bit perturbed by the whole thing.

"Do you agree to my terms?"

"You will share any information you acquire from this creature?"

"Of course."

"Then I agree to your terms. I will send a ship to collect the crate later today." Ironwood started walking away.

"Ironwood." Said Oren. Ironwood stopped and turned.

"You and I have just taken a rough step here, but we got through it. I hope that you and I can work together more effectively after this."

Ironwood said nothing but continued walking.

"Well that went...i'm not entirely sure". Said Grey.

"What now?" Asked Thane.

"Well we are expecting reinforcements within the month. In fact a team from Vale should be here pretty soon. I suppose we wait, heal the creature, get more info and plan our next move." Said Oren.


	18. Chapter 18

After a couple days team CFVY arrived. Saying that once Glynda told them about this mission they had volunteered on the spot. They were longtime friends of team GHOST and have gone on several missions together. Everybody was so happy to see each other again. Even Oren had to crack a small smile when Velvet gave him a hug. Of course, they were surprised to find both Weiss and Blake as well. They decided that it might be a bit too many people imposing if they stayed at the Schnee mansion, so they stayed at Atlas academy where Ironwood offered up rooms.

Ironwood hadn't spoken much to the group, but whenever Oren saw him he sensed... not necessarily confusion, but contemplative thought. Oren had gotten him to think, which is what his goal was. Ironwood had also held up his end of the bargain, they never attempted to stop Oren or his team when they went to see the creature. They were a bit resistant when they brought Coco from team CFVY with them, but after some assurances from Grey, the guards let her pass. They had also given her a key to the creature's bindings.

In return, Oren kept their end of the bargain. There was an Atlesian soldier present for all the creatures... "therapy" sessions, and Winter was always present for interrogations. Oren got the feeling she resented him a little for putting Weiss so close to such a creature, but she seemed to let it go when she saw what progress they were making.

The creature itself was making very decent progress, it was now completely capable of reason and rational thought. It could formulate complex sentence structures and would converse in quite a civilized manner. Although reduced it could still have mood swings. It was still driven by instinct and still... angry. (Though Oren supposed that was a Grimm thing). It still couldn't remember its name, and there were a few things it couldn't remember. According to Grey these memories seemed, "blocked" was the word he used.

Oren didn't mind the wait, he was still waiting for those reinforcements from Haven and, he supposed they were called team RNJR. (Yes, that sounded cool to him). Oren didn't want to act without his full forces, although he supposed there was one thing he could do. Though there is no way he could do it without Ironwoods blessing. He had to have listened to the recording of the interrogation by now. There was one way to know for sure. Oren called him, Ironwood had listened to the recording and agreed that there were some things they needed to discuss.

Oren went Ironwoods office and found him sitting at his desk. Oren sat in the chair opposite.

"You've heard the recording?" He asked again.

"Yes." Responded Ironwood.

"What are your thoughts?" Oren asked, choosing his words carefully.

"I am uncertain. However, it occurs to me that... I have been wrong in the past. You need to understand though, even if I trust this call, those two are very deeply rooted in our community. We can't really act on them without significant proof. Even I am still... skeptical."

"I understand, and if you'll permit me I have a suggestion."

"I'm listening."

"My team specializes in gathering this type of information. We can easily infiltrate and gather info. We would need your help though."

"I... am going to trust you, and choose to act on this information being true. So please, tell me your plan."

After two days of discussion and fine tuning Ironwood set up a meeting with Amaranth. Apparently, he had bought some tech from her before, and the meeting was to discuss her research and possibly the acquisition of new tech. Of course, the meeting was a front. They just needed to be in the same room as her, Sam had hidden in Ironwoods shadow. While Ironwood and Amaranth were conversing, Sam "jumped" from Ironwoods shadow into Amaranths shadow. It was imperceptible, even Ironwood who was aware of the plan didn't notice. Even if one had noticed, all that could be seen was a small flash of black as Sam moved across the floor.

Sam rode in Amaranth's shadow, all the way back to her lab. The plan was for a multiple day recon. Hopefully just three days, but no more than five. Sam would have to abandon Amaranth every second night, to rest (shadow form can still be quite tiring if used for extended periods.). He would leave Amaranth at night to explore the lab and take pictures of any incriminating evidence. He would have to come out of shadow form for this, tech doesn't work in his shadow form. This could cause a bit of a problem because, while he could hear conversations, he could not record them as proof.

All of this and more was running through Sam's head as he shadowed Amaranth. It was two nights of quiet, nothing interesting was discovered. Luckily on the second night, he managed to sneak into a locked bathroom and rest. He set an alarm on his scroll to wake him up early. On the third morning, just before sunrise, he melted back into the shadows and found Amaranth again. It was frustrating to have not found anything for two nights. He hoped something would change soon.

He was both surprised and delighted when Alizarin showed up. They both got in the elevator. Amaranth used the buttons to type out a secret code, which Sam was sure to memorize. This opened two slots in the wall, where Alizarin and Amaranth inserted key-cards. Finally, one more slot opened and a single button was revealed. Alizarin pressed it. They were taken deep down underground. He found himself among halls and halls of cages. Most of them were empty, but some had people in them. Children mostly, a few young adults here and there. Sam was deeply disturbed by the sight.

"Is this the last batch?" Asked Alizarin.

"Yes, all the rest have already been moved."

"Good, I don't like it. Ever since that team of huntsmen got here Ironwood has been getting too curious for comfort."

"Are we still showing the merchandise to Cinder tomorrow?"

"Ya, it'll just be in our safe location instead of here. Are you sure you don't want to seal this area off once we're done?"

"No, after things cool off, we are gonna need the space."

"Fine, just be careful. Apparently, Cinder has been called back by her boss. She is gonna have to leave at least by the end of next week."

"I'm confident we can close business by then."

"Alright, let's get these last few out of here the. Call it for the night."

They proceeded to load the still full cages into a couple shipping crates, which went up an elevator of their own. Sam assumed that they were on their way to some sort of transport to this "secret location.". That night when Amaranth was asleep the first thing Sam did was pickpocket that key-card and scan both sides of it with his scroll. Then he went to the elevator. It was a bit difficult, but he managed to slip through some cracks in shadow form to find his way down to the secret floor. He took pictures of all the cages, he found an office with some research findings and took more photos. He couldn't risk sending the files to anyone, he had his scroll offline because Oren assumed there was some sort of radar. He returned to Amaranths shadow quite pleased, because tomorrow would be his last day of recon.

The next day when Amaranth awoke, she met up with Alizarin and they proceeded to their location, with Sam trailing all the way. It was a long trip but they finally made it to a village, that looked to have been destroyed, possibly in the last war, possibly by Grimm. All the buildings that weren't rubble, were empty, and by now the whole village had almost frozen over. There was only one building that was not old. A large warehouse, in the center of a cluster of buildings. It was decorated to look old and abandoned, but there was no snow on the roof or walls, which meant heat had to be coming from inside it.

Amaranth and Alizarin waited outside for a while before a van drove up and parked. Several individuals stepped out. Sam recognized all of them due to his briefing on their appearances. Cinder Fall, Mercury Black, Emerald Sustrai, Neo Politan, and Adam Taurus. All of Cinders inner circle was here.

They led Cinders group into the warehouse and Sam had a hard time grasping what he saw. All four walls were lined from floor to ceiling with those cages, most of them full of scared looking people. A lot of them filled with more of those strange Grimm. Almost all the people in cages looked to be under 20. There were a few older people, but not many. They started talking with Cinder, but Sam was having a hard time concentrating, he was getting tired.

He observed as best he could. from what he could gather, they were agreeing to add their forces to Cinders, in exchange for power in whatever dystopian future Cinder was planning on creating. After a couple hours, an agreement was reached, and the groups began parting ways. Sam stayed with Amaranth for a while, but switched over to Alizarin before the two split up. That night when he emerged, he gently stole Alizarin's key-card and scanned both sides of it with his scroll. He didn't want to push his luck, he needed to rest. He explored the house in shadow form, until he found a safe space to rest. He stayed for a couple hours sleeping. Not long, just enough to gather his strength. Then he went back into shadow form and fled as fast as he could.

The next morning, he made it back to Oren and his group, exhausted. He reported on his findings to Grey, Oren and Ironwood. Then he slept for a solid two days.


	19. Chapter 19

Oren was just leaving Ironwoods debriefing. Ever since that altercation they had, Ironwood seemed much more prone to advice. Oren appreciated the open mindedness. He met up with his team (minus Sam who was still asleep) and they went out to a small cafe to get lunch. Oren was on his way back to the mansion, when a peculiar thing happened. Oren sensed it before he saw it. A flash of red zooming down the street in his direction.

"What's that?" Asked Thane.

"Oh dear." Oren replied simply, bracing himself for impact.

"Oh dear? What's oh dear?"

"One of the few things in this world I truly fear."

"Which is?"

Thane got his answer when that flash of red struck Oren, knocking him backwards a couple feet and kicking up a lot of snow.

Oren's Team started grasping for their weapons, but relaxed when they saw a young girl, her arms wrapped around Oren, hanging from him.

"Ruby's tackle hugs." Said Oren.

"OREN! It's so good to see you!" Shouted the girl.

"You too Ruby." Replied Oren.

The team smiled at the heartwarming scene. Helen noticed that not only was Oren hugging back, there was an honest to Oum smile on his face.

"I haven't seen you in decades! Where have you been!"

"Awe Ruby its only been a year, not decades."

"That's still more than 300 days... I think."

"Aren't you supposed to be the optimist?"

"Hey Ruby,". Said a new voice, "next time could you warn us when your gonna go bolting off like that."

3 more teenagers were running up to the group, one looked particularly out of breath.

"Sorry Jaune," said Ruby. "Oh Oren, these are my friends. Jaune Nora and Ren." She said. Pointing to them each in turn.

"Pleasure." Said Oren.

"Likewise" said the one called Ren.

"Howdy!" Said Nora.

"Ya... Hi." Said Jaune who was still catching his breath.

"Guys, this is Oren, my brother." Said Ruby

"Brother?" Asked Jaune.

"Adopted." Replied Oren.

"Ah."

"Ruby, did Yang find you?"

"Yep, she and team SSSN are exploring Atlas for a little bit, they're going to meet us at the address you gave them."

"I assume that SSSN is the team from Haven?"

"Yep, they're pretty fun."

"Good, shall we go?"

All of team RNJR' jaws dropped when they saw where their HQ was set up, except for Ren who simply said.

" Schnee manor? Impressive."

"Wait, Schnee manor? Does that mean Weiss is in there?" Asked Ruby

"Yep." Said Oren. Ruby took off toward the mansion. The rest of them casually walked up to it. Oren heard a loud, short screech. Which told him that Weiss had also fallen victim to Ruby's deadly tackle hug. Oren followed Ruby Into one of the halls of Schnee manor and peeked his head around a corner.

"You dolt! Don't ambush me like that! You nearly scared me to death!" Scolded Weiss.

"I...I'm sorry Weiss, it's just been so long and I got excited when I heard you were here and it was so good to see you again and..."

"Ruby". Weiss interjected.

"Yea?"

"It's good to see you too." Said Weiss gently. She pulled Ruby into a... much calmer hug, with tears at the corners of her eyes.

Oren was satisfied that all was well here, and went off to find a certain Faunus that he noticed was absent from this reunion.

He found Blake in the library. Completely absorbed in a book.

"Hello?" He asked. No response. He sighed, remembering that feeling. Being so engrossed in a book that you lose track of the world around you. He went up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She jerked slightly having just been shoved back to reality.

"Oh Oren hi." She said.

"Sorry to bother you." Said Oren.

"No, no trouble at all. What do you need?"

"Just wanted to let you know that the two remaining members of your team are here."

"What!? When?"

"Well Ruby is here now, Yang is exploring the city with a team SSSN." Oren could hear Blake gulp.

"Nervous?"

"...yes." She said looking at the floor.

"Don't be. Ruby is not going to care, and that is a guarantee."

"And... Yang?"

Oren's face darkened slightly.

"You need to understand, Her birth mother, and I hesitate to call her that, abandoned her. Her second mother, Ruby's mother who raised them both, died on a mission and never came back. I would be lying if I said Yang didn't have a degree of fear of abandonment. She also probably has PTSD, because of her arm."

With every word he said, he saw Blake's face grow more worried.

"You might have run off, but there is a difference between you and them." He continued

Blake looked at him inquisitively.

"You came back. It will be rough, but there's no such thing as a perfect relationship." Oren finished.

"Why are you telling me all this?" She asked after a few moments of silence.

"Because, I want you to understand her." Oren smiled and started walking away. When he got to the door he turned and said.

"I think you'll take good care of her." Oren chuckled a little when he saw her blushing.

He walked out the door and down a few halls where he found Weiss and Ruby.

"Hey Ruby, you'll never guess who I found in the library!" He said

"Who!? Who?!" She asked excitedly.

"Blake." Said Weiss catching on to what Oren was doing.

Ruby turned to Oren in wonder, who simply nodded his head. She took off, again.

"Weiss I don't think she actually knows where the library is." Said Oren.

"No I haven't give her the tour yet." She gave a polite nod to Oren, before running after Ruby. A few minutes later a loud startled yelp told him that Ruby had yet another victim. There was one more conversation that Oren needed to have, so he started making his way out of Schnee mansion. He was about to open the front door, when it smacked him in the face.

"Sun!" Shouted a voice. Oren recognized it as Yang.

"I'm sorry! I didn't know he was there!" Responded the guy who must've been Sun.

"Are you OK?" Asked Yang.

Oren had a nosebleed and was pretty sure it was broken.

"Ah I'm fine, this isn't the worst I've ever been through." He said clutching his nose. He jerked his nose back into place.

"Listen man, I'm really sorry." Said Sun.

"Don't worry about it, you haven't even seen my scars. This is nothing." Oren noticed that Yang seemed to have new mechanical arm.

"I see you've got a new accessory." He said.

"Oh ya, Before I left for Haven a package arrived from Ironwood. He said I fought admirably."

"Glad to hear it." Oren said, but he knew. better. He could sense the fear and anxiety coming from Yang. But at least she was taking steps to move forward, though Oren hoped she would talk to somebody and not just keep it to herself. By this time Klein had arrived.

"Your sister is in the library, Klein can take you there. And Sun."

"Yea?" Asked the monkey Faunus nervously. (After-all Oren had quite an imposing figure)

"You should work on your first impressions."

"Will do!" Laughed Sun.

Oren headed off, once again, for Atlas Academy. They knew to let him in by now, in fact at this very moment Helen and Grey were working on the creature. He was not here to see them, however, his business was with Ironwood.

"Oren. Welcome back." Said Ironwood

"General," replied Oren respectfully before sitting down, "the last of our reinforcements have arrived, team SSSN and the sort of newly formed team RNJR."

"Good, then I guess it's time we get busy."

"Of course." Oren plugged in Sams scroll to Ironwoods computer, so they could review the data they found.

"The only problem is that, apparently Cinder will be leaving at the end of the week. This only gives us four days to catch her."

"As well as Adam Taurus, the leader of the White Fang would be a great detriment to our enemies should he be captured."

"Either way I think we are capable of pushing them out of Atlas entirely. Either we capture them all here, or we show them the force of what they are dealing with."

"Hmm. We also have to take into account that we need to raid Alizarin's Dig, Amaranth's Lab And both their homes."

"How long would this take?"

"At least two days."

"OK so do the lab first. We know they have secrets there, so this will make them afraid. Once we "discover" their hidden operations it will hopefully make them desperate. Desperate people make foolish mistakes."

"It also guarantees a certain level of information acquisition. If we raided the other locations first, they might seal off the lab entirely."

"Correct. I'm thinking we take one day to prepare, send one of the huntsmen teams to each location. On the first two days we raid, on the last day we attack their hidden warehouse."

"Alright, I'll check with the teams and see where they all want to go."

"By the way."

"Yes?"

"I saw Yang's new arm. That was a very kind gesture, thank you."

Ironwoods expression softened before he said.

"Of course. You and I can both agree that she deserves it."

"Yes. But still you have done a great service for this family. That I won't forget. But I feel the need to warn you of something."

"What is it?"

"You've met Ruby Rose, correct?"

"Yes."

"She is such a kind, caring, sweet, innocent girl. The opposite of me one could say. I suppose you could also say she is my weakness."

"How so?" Ironwood asked carefully.

"Because if I think someone is going to harm her, I will completely flip my shit. I think she the only one, if anything happened to her... it would put me in a state and down a path, from which I could not recover."

"Why tell me now, and why should I be concerned?"

"It wasn't relevant information until she got here, as well that now I have made vows to protect all of team RWBY. Normally I am a cold calculating and logical man, but in the case of this team, I might be prone to rash action."

"And you want me to stop you from said action?"

"Oh no, nothing on remnant could prevent me from keeping those vows, I'm just asking you to be aware of it."

"Very well. I appreciate your telling me."


	20. Chapter 20

One day of preparations. That was all Oren had allowed himself. But then again one could argue that he had been plotting ever since they got to Atlas. It was all organized, SSSN and CFVY and would be raiding the houses, JNR along with Hopper would be raiding the dig site and Oren had requested that his team lead the raid on the Lab. Team RWBY had requested to head the final assault on the last day. Oren was nervous but he agreed. He already set up reinforcement plans should something go wrong.

He wasn't sure what still needed to be prepared. all the soldiers and huntsmen teams were briefed, weapons were sharpened and cleaned, ammunition was dispensed. Everything seemed to be taken care of. Oren was in his room pondering his next move when Helen walked in.

"Hi Oren." She said.

"You know most people knock." He replied.

"True, but you already knew it was me."

"True. What's up?"

"I was just curious, who is that Ruby girl?"

"She's Yang's sister, she's that girl who got in two years early like I did. As I understand her team seems to have gotten a reputation among the teachers for being... well I guess mischievous, such as doing covert missions without the permission of Ozpin or being the key players in that whole fall maiden thing."

"Sounds a bit like us."

"Hmm, I hope I didn't teach her that". Winked Oren.

"But what I meant was, who is she to you?"

"... She... is my adopted sister."

"Give me more than that Oren. I know you don't like sharing your life, but sweet Oum your hurting. If you would just listen to your own advice and talk to somebody it would help so much."

Oren's face darkened. He took so long to respond that Helen had thought she lost him, until he said.

"You need to understand. The way I am now, I was so much worse before you met me. I didn't even talk at all. Ruby and Yang, are the reason I have... recovered... as much as I have. Yang is passionate and fiery and would defend her friends with all her might. As for Ruby... it genuinely astonishes that a human being can be capable of so much good. She is kind and caring and...oblivious. They both are a little oblivious when it comes to reading people. They could never tell that i just wanted to be left alone, and would always intrude on whatever I was doing,". Oren chuckled at the memories before continuing, "and I think that was a good thing. If I had gotten my wish and was left alone... I would not have changed. Those two girls, were the first time I had loved someone since my parents." At the mention of his parents, his face darkened again.

"Oren...". Helen couldn't find the words to comfort Oren.

"I'm going for a walk." He said, then he got up and left.

Oren had been walking for awhile when suddenly he could sense something. Anger and sorrow, coming from somewhere in the house. So he went to go find Sam, who had finally woken up.

"Sam, could I borrow Tsur for a moment?" He asked.

"Sure, I can't wait to hear what mischief you guys are going to get into, so be sure to come back with a story." Replied Sam.

"Of course." Smirked Oren.

Tsur hopped into Oren's shadow. And Oren began going towards those negative emotions. He arrived, not very much to his surprise, in front of Mr. Schnee's office.

"Tsur, I know technology doesn't work in your world. I would like you to take my scroll, find somewhere inconspicuous, and come into our world, to record what's going on."

Tsur gave a little salute, took the scroll, and crept under the door into the room. Oren himself put his ear to the door to hear what was going on.

"You can't just kick them out! They need our resources!" Shouted a voice that Oren recognized as Weiss.

"They have been here for months, they have used far too many of our resources already." Said. Mr. Jacques Schnee.

"They are getting rid of the white fang, they are solving your problems for you without even being asked."

"Ironwood is more than capable of dealing with the White Fang. These children are in over their heads."

"Ironwood accomplished nothing before these 'children' showed up. Of course if people like you hadn't been so discriminatory, the Faunus wouldn't have had to rise up in the first place."

"How dare you! You're siding with terrorists now?"

"Not with terrorists, just against you. After all there's a reason the White Fang targets our company, there's a reason that mother drinks her life away!"

"Why you insolent little girl!" Shouted Jacques. Oren knew what was going to happen before it did. he used his shock-waves to propel himself forward, broke through the door and before either Schnee knew what had happened, placed himself between Weiss and her father. He landed just as Jacques hand struck his face, right where Weiss's cheek would have been.

Both of them were in complete shock.

"WHAT IS THIS! HOW DARE YOU INTRUDE LIKE THIS." Shouted Jacques once he recovered.

"I made a promise to protect Weiss from harm. If that includes from her own father, so be it." Calmly responded Oren.

"WHAT NONSENSE IS THAT. ILL HAVE YOU THROWN OUT FOR THIS."

"I would be lying if I said I was surprised. I could feel the malice in your heart from the moment I met you. Your faux hospitality has been appreciated, however, you might want to tread lightly. After all my team specializes in the gathering of information. Who knows, this whole interaction between you and your daughter might have been recorded."

Jacques blanched. "Are you threatening me?"

"No, I am merely suggesting that it might be a bad idea to piss off the specialist team that's been living in your home for 'months' as you put it."

"I don't take kindly to this kind of suggestion". Jacques face was beet red by now. That was nothing compared to Oren however, who let out a deep guttural growl, like a tiger.

"And I don't take kindly to people like you. You should thank your daughter because it's out of respect for her that I didn't hit you back, because i could render you comatose with one punch. Which reminds me. I have the capability to bring your entire corporation crashing down around you, both literally and figuratively. If you ever try to raise a hand against Weiss again, I will make it my exclusive goal to expose you and drag your name through the mud. This a promise, and I take my promises seriously, Mr. False Schnee." Said Oren, putting his face right up to Jacques'."

Jacques held his gaze for few moments but could not withstand the heat of Oren's eyes and looked away.

"Besides you don't need to worry, we are approaching our final mission here. Whether it fails or succeeds, we won't be staying here much longer."

"...fine." Is all Jacques said. Oren offer his arm to Weiss, who took it and they both left the office.

"You didn't have to do that." Said Weiss placing her hand to where Jacques' hand struck.

"Yes I did. Like I said, I made a promise to keep you from harm. The only way to do that was to take the blow myself. Unless you want me to beat him into submission?"

"No no, that won't be necessary!" Weiss quickly said.

"I thought not."

"Who did you make that promise to?"

"Your sister."

"Winter? Really?"

"I promised to protect you, but I didn't promise anonymity. Are you really so surprised?"

"No it's just... I thought she knew I could handle myself."

"She does, she's just concerned that the issues I'm getting you involved in are a bit over your head. Everybody's got limits. Don't forget I was a senior at beacon and you were a freshman. there is a dramatic difference between the two."

"I guess."

"Is that the first time he tried to hurt you? Or your siblings?" Asked Oren suddenly.

"Well... I...". Her silence spoke volumes.

"People always say that 'blood is thicker than water'. I say so what? Tomato juice is thicker than blood. Blood doesn't make family."

"What do you mean?"

"You are worth more than he treats you. I think you should take some time to decide where to draw the line between family and blood. And by the way," Oren snapped his fingers and Tsur appeared out of his shadow, holding his scroll. "Claiming that i was recording that whole conversation, was not just a threat. If you ever need some leverage let me know." They had reached Weiss's room. Weiss let go of Oren's arm and curtsied.

"Thank you Oren."

"Of course Miss Schnee." Oren replied with a bow. He then walked off.

Oren figured since preparation seemed complete, he would just go read a book and relax. As he was about to walk into the library when to his surprise he saw Blake. OK seeing Blake in a library wasn't the surprising part, seeing Yang's head lying in Blake's lap is what surprised him. Yang was awake but her eyes were closed, Blake was reading aloud and running her fingers through Yang's hair. She briefly saw Oren standing there in the doorway. Oren gave her a thumbs up, causing her to blush. Oren left the library, he figured that he wouldn't disturb them.

In fact he remembered that he had someone he needed to visit. Should have visited a while ago. He was on his way out of the mansion when he was intercepted by Velvet.

"Hi Oren."

"Hey Velvet, how's it going?"

"I'm doing well. I'm just a bit...".

"Nervous?"

"Nervous and excited. This will be the first real progress we've made against the enemy."

"If we're lucky we may be able to catch the ones responsible for Beacon."

"I know, the whole thing just has me feeling... all over the place you know?"

"Ya, that's definitely something I'm familiar with."

"So where you off to?"

"Just visiting some old friends. You can accompany me if you like."

"Sure!"

The two headed over to the Schnee garage and hopped on Oren's chopper. This place was far enough away that walking would be a pain. Oren always kept a helmet on his bike for passengers, he handed it to velvet, who put it on. She wrapped her arms around Oren's waist and he drove them out into the city. Oren had asked for the address from Ironwood, who had graciously supplied it. It led them to a nice humble house in a relatively small neighborhood.

Oren dismounted his bike and knocked on the door. A few moments later it opened. Standing there was none other than Plum.

"Oren? Come in, come in." He said. And he ushered them into his house. He led into his living room where Mullberry was sitting on a reclining chair.

"Oren, it's good to see you again!" He said. Oren was relieved when he sensed the feeling was genuine.

"You too Mullberry, how you doing?"

"Oh just some minor problems on the road to recovery. Doctor tells me I can't do anything too physically strenuous."

"Which is fine by us, because we are done with that dig!" Interjected Plum.

"That's right, we might be old but we are not fools. It's obvious to us that for whatever reason, Alizarin set that trap." Continued Mullberry.

"Yea... I'm sorry you got dragged into this. I had no idea how far she was willing to go to kill me. And I'm sorry I didn't visit sooner." Said Oren.

"Not your fault!" Laughed Mullberry.

"As of right now, Alizarin is the one who's responsible for hurting Mullberry. So you have no blame to bear."

"...thank you...". Was all Oren could say, he was genuinely touched.

"Would you and your friend like to stay for a bit?" Asked Plum.

Oren looked inquisitively at Velvet who nodded.

"We can stay for a little while."

They wound up staying at their house chatting for about an hour and a half over coffee before the sun started to set, and they decided it was time to go back. At her request Oren dropped Velvet off at Atlas academy (where her team was staying) and went back to the mansion. He drew himself a nice hot bath. He loved baths, they helped him relax. After his bath, he crawled into his bed a little early and fell fast asleep. His dreams were always troubled, but for the first time in 10 years, he had pleasant dreams. He saw how Weiss was finally starting to stand up to her father. It would be hard for her, but she could do it. He saw Blake and Yang spending time together happy. He was glad, they both deserved it after all that happened. And he dreamed of Velvet. He didn't know why, but when he thought of her he got confused. It was perplexing, but he figured that was a problem for another day. Right now he was too focused on the fact that he wasn't having his usual nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really excited. The next two or three chapters are things I have been looking forward to writing since I began. Oren was the first character I created, and these next chapters are literally the ideas and thoughts I had that created his concept. I cant wait.
> 
> Also, I have begun writing my first original story. Its going to be a novel, and i could really use any tips or critiques you guys have to give so please leave reviews.
> 
> Thanks Guys :)


	21. Chapter 21

When Oren awoke, he was ready for business. He and his team, along with the other teams arrived in Ironwoods office for briefing.

"Today we launch the plan that could cripple the enemy if it succeeds. We have learned that Adam Taurus, Cinder Fall and most of their inner circle are here in Atlas. We have also learned of an attempted betrayal by the doctors Alizarin and Amaranth. Our end goal is their capture. Today we back them into a corner. During a reconnaissance mission, Samuel managed to scan the ID's of both Alizarin and Amaranth. We have created copies from these scans for each team,". Winter began handing out the ID's, "We know that they are used to access a secret area in Amaranths lab, and this leads us to believe there are more hidden areas possibly in their homes or other places of work. Each team will be going with a battalion of soldiers to aid as you see fit. Today our goal is to gather enough incriminating evidence to ruin them in the eyes of the council and the public. This will eliminate their resources and back them into a corner. Team RWBY, you are going to leave at night, and be prepared to attack their location just before sunrise. You will be the first wave, at your call Team JNR, Hopper and a battalion of troops will arrive as the second wave. Another battalion of troops as well as team GHOST will be prepared to arrive as a third wave. This is our chance to get back at them for what happened to Beacon, let's make it count. Dismissed."

As the teams were leaving Oren stayed behind.

"What is it Oren?" Asked Ironwood.

"I've just had a thought, I thought you would appreciate. If this plan succeeds then Atlas will have avenged Beacon, perhaps the world would be more inclined to forgive. You might even be able to lift the Embargo."

"... I'll be honest, i'd forgotten about all that."

"Good, it means your thinking about the people instead of your agenda. Still, it's a happy little side effect isn't it?"

"I suppose it is... Good luck Oren."

"You as well." Said Oren as he got up to leave.

Instead of walking or using public transit, this time they were riding in the back of a military truck along with some troops. They stopped in front of the lab and got out.

"Excuse me can i help you?" Smiled the receptionist. But her smile faded when she saw the soldiers. Oren ignored her and said.

"One squad with me, the rest of you sweep the upper floors."

"What's going on?" The receptionist asked nervously. Grey walked up to her and kindly said,

"The person who owns this facility is suspected of illicit activities. We have a warrant to search this building. Don't worry, as long as you cooperate, you have nothing to fear."

Team GHOST and six soldiers got into the elevator. It was a little cramped, but not too bad. Sam punched in the code he saw on the elevator buttons. Sure enough the panels popped open revealing slots for two key-cards.

"Let's hope these copies are worth something." Said Oren, putting on of the key-cards into the slot. Grey put the other key-card into the other slot and a hidden panel slid open revealing a button. Oren gingerly pressed it and the elevator started descending. It took longer than expected, which told Oren that this place was hidden deep underground. When the doors finally opened it revealed a large dark warehouse. Nobody could see anything except for Sam, who took one step into the room when all the lights turned on.

The group navigated their way through the maze of cages and offices. Helen was worried, Oren was radiating anxiety and fear. He wasn't exhibiting anything. It didn't surprise her, he was so good at his poker face that she needed to use her semblance to be able to tell.

"Hey Oren, come on let's check out down here." She said splitting from the group. Oren followed.

"I know what you're doing." He said.

"And you followed anyway."

Oren was quiet for awhile before his skin paled, he leaned back against a wall and slowly slid into a sitting position.

"I feel like I'm suffocating." He said.

"Just let it out. I'm not here to talk, or even ask questions like I usually do. I'm just here to listen."

"... I can't breath its so fucking cramped. And I .. I... I keep having these flashbacks. Just like the dreams that torment me." Oren started hyperventilating.

Helen walked over and put her hand on his shoulder. Nothing she could say would make him feel better, but there was still something she could do. It was a simple trick, like opening a floodgate, black energy started flowing out of Oren and into Helen. She could feel it. Years of sadness and anger and fear, all coalesced into pain. This was a temporary solution, for his pain to go away forever he would have to heal on his own. But this could at least clear his head long enough to focus.

"...you didn't have to do that." He said.

"Don't Oren. I wanted to and that's all that matters."

She began walking back towards the others and left Oren to have a few moments to compose himself. Oren was a bit concerned though. As much as she knew more about him than she let on, it was the same in reverse. Oren was well aware of the health risks that came with Helen's ability, specifically using her semblance to absorb emotions. He didn't want anyone getting hurt on his account and he certainly didn't want anyone to ever feel like he did, after all that's the whole reason he became a huntsman. He knew, however, that he couldn't stop her, as much as she couldn't stop him.

Oren quickly slapped himself in the face (he used this as a grounding technique to snap him back to focus). Rubbed his cheek and began to head back to the group.

"Find anything?" Asked Thane.

"Nothing that stands out." Said Helen.

"Well we found something, the offices" Said Sam. Who lead the way down a corridor pats several rooms with operating tables. Helen noticed that Oren was staring at the floor through that whole corridor. On the other end of the hall there were some office rooms, the six soldiers were already going through the filing cabinets. After a few minutes, all the paperwork had been gathered and was going to be used as evidence.

"Wow, this is messed up. They were trying to make some human Grimm hybrid." Said Thane. "All the files say they were unsuccessful."

"Wanna bet money on that?" Said Oren.

"We got a captive back at base that would disprove all claims of 'failure'". Said Grey.

After an hour of searching, they decided that they had everything. They went back up the elevator and regrouped with the rest of Ironwoods troops. They had found nothing, and apparently Amaranth was not there. Helen walked up to the receptionist and asked very gently.

"Do you know where Amaranth is?"

"No, she said she was going out of town for a couple days but didn't tell me where." Replied the girl. Helen could sense no dishonesty in her heart so they let her go. The team got back in their truck and drove back to Atlas Academy.

"This is all you found?" Asked Ironwood once they returned.

"This is all we could bring back." Said Grey.

"I see. I'll send over some men to keep an eye on the hidden lab you discovered."

"Question,". Said Oren, "did the team at the dig site find anything?"

"Not a lot, however they did manage to find an illegal generator. It acted as a CCTS tower to an independent signal. In short it appears that Alizarin could still communicate with any other devices on this signal, even if the CCTS was down."

"Does it also boost the signal of any nearby devices?"

"Yes it does."

"Well that explains why I could still get reception while buried underground. What now?"

"We have just launched the operation to raid Alizarin and Amaranths houses. They should report back in one or two hours. Oren, mind staying a moment?"

Everyone proceeded to file out of the room. Except Oren who sat in the chair across from Ironwood.

"What's up?"

"I wanted to hear your thoughts on something."

"Shoot."

"All of their files document their experiments as failures, and yet we have a certain captive that disproves this. Why wouldn't they document their successes?"

"My theory is they probably have. According to Sam's recon mission they are trying to join up with Cinder and friends. Essentially they are applying for a job. When you apply for a job you list references that will talk up your good points. Would you put failures on your resume? I'm sure if we check the dates of those failures, that they are all from years and years ago. They just have the documentation of successes physically on their person."

"Hmm thank you. You are dismissed."

*****

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT! HOW DID THEY FIND US OUT!?" Shouted Amaranth. She, Alizarin and all of Cinders group were in a conference room. And we're in the middle of a discussion when Alizarin got an emergency phone call.

"We were so careful. I don't understand." Alizarin growled through clenched teeth. Putting away her scroll.

"Apparently not careful enough." Said Mercury, smirking.

"You should watch your mouth boy. We may have lost our lab, but our creatures could still rip you to shreds."

"That won't be necessary." Interjected Cinder. "You'll be coming with us."

"You mean we're in?" Asked Amaranth.

"Yes. She is pleased with your work. However since you don't have a lab anymore, you will have to come with us until we can establish a new base for your operations."

"Oh thank you, thank you so much."

"Don't grovel Amaranth, its unprofessional. We thank you for the opportunity." Said Alizarin.

"I've got a question. If their secret labs and stuff have been discovered, then isn't there the risk that this location is also compromised?" Said Mercury.

"As much as I hate the arrogant brat, he is right. They somehow managed to copy our ID's to get into our lab. There is a possibility that this location is unsafe." Said Alizarin.

"I was already leaving tomorrow anyway. You all will just have to come with me. I'll reschedule our flight for dawn. That should be early enough that they can't act yet." Said Cinder.

"And what about our plan? Our influence in Atlas has greatly diminished. My people rot in cells." Said Adam.

"I've asked her. Too much is happening at once, and we no longer have a place in Atlas to stage our counteroffensive. We will have to operate from another kingdom."

"...fine"

"Good. Now that's settled, we leave at sunrise. Alizarin, Amaranth, you two will have to stay here tonight."

"That's fine, we'll make do." Said Alizarin.


	22. Chapter 22

Oren was never one for sleep in the first place, but tonight was exceptional. He was anxious, he knew that Team RWBY could take care of themselves (and in fact had been for awhile). It was Oren's nature to fear for them, especially Yang and Ruby. He was in Ironwoods control room, monitoring their vitals. A minor alteration to his scroll and a little time tinkering with bracelets allowed him to view their vitals from anywhere. The door opened and Ironwood walked in.

"Can't sleep?" He asked.

"Don't really want to." Responded Oren.

"Aren't you concerned you won't be at top performance?"

"I'm plagued by night terrors. I would've just woken in a cold sweat regardless. Besides someone has to keep an eye on the girls. Make sure we get the signal that they are moving, or calling in reinforcements."

"Hmm I understand. I have a hard time sleeping as well, hence why I'm here."

"You're arm?"

"Yes sometimes. Sometimes nightmares like yours."

"You have nightmares?"

"I don't think there's a single huntsmen out there who doesn't have nightmares. We've all seen some things, after all there's a reason half of my body is machinery. Though I'll admit, your case is the first of its kind I've ever heard."

"So you figured me out?"

"You presented me with all the information I needed. Have you told your friends?"

"...no."

"Why not?"

"I don't know if I can talk about this." Oren said uncertainly.

"You forget, I'm not just a general, I'm also a teacher. Student teacher confidentiality would technically apply in this situation." Oren glanced over for a second before he looked down and said

"...I'm scared."

"Of what? Rejection?"

"Partly, but mostly I'm afraid of the isolation that would come from it."

"You think they'd do that to you?"

"I'm having a hard time tying to find a reason for them not to."

"Hmmm. Well I can't tell you what to do, this is something you're going to have to figure out."

"But I appreciate you listening. I've already decided that I'll tell them once this whole thing with Alizarin and Amaranth ends. Regardless of how it ends, it wont matter after that."

They sat in silence for awhile before Oren said,

"I apologize."

"For what?" Asked Ironwood.

"For what I said at the docks."

"Don't. You were right. People like me are failures."

"You don't need to be so harsh, everybody makes mistakes."

"That's not what I meant. People like myself or Ozpin are the type of people who have failed countless times. We do our best, but we can't succeed all the time. There is a key importance in this though, we learn from our failures. We improve, and we never make the same mistake twice. I'm a man of failure, and that's not entirely a bad thing."

Suddenly a message appeared on the control panel. It read,

"We are on the move. Prep wave 2 for immediate entry."

"Looks like we're getting started, I'll rally our troops." Said Oren.

*****

Perry hated the night watch. Tedious and dull, worst of all it cost him sleep. He was tempted to just doze off when he thought he saw something in the tree line. A brief flash of red. He trained his gun at where he thought he saw it. Suddenly he felt a thump on the back of his head. Everything faded to black and he collapsed.

Blake looked down, admiring her handiwork. Ruby walked over and gave her a high five. Yang and Weiss approached from around the corner of the building.

"We took care of the rest of the perimeter guards." Said Weiss quietly.

"Let's send the signal." Said Blake. Ruby nodded her head and sent the signal for wave two to arrive. It would take some time for them to arrive, if all went according to plan then wave two would arrive right when the battle kick-started.

The girls made their way into the warehouse. They found a staircase to the second floor and began creep along a catwalk. They froze when they heard footsteps.

"What did you want to talk about?" Said a voice.

"Mercury." Whispered Yang.

"I don't know about this job anymore Mercury." Said a different voice.

"And Emerald." Whispered Blake.

"What do you mean?" Asked Mercury.

"I mean this seems like a bit too much. I'm just a pick pocket and thief, and now we're at war with the world? I just feel like I'm not cut out for this."

"I'll admit, this is a bit intense. Salem and her people are super creepy, but I'm not worried about it."

"How can you not be weirded out by all this? I mean look at who we work for!"

"Well let me ask you this, do you honestly think that at this point you could leave without any consequences?"

"...no your right. If I left they would hunt me down."

"We're in too deep. You're just gonna have to get used to it."

"Ya I guess."

Rubies scroll flashed dimly as a message appeared. It read "wave two arrival, one minute."

"Alright, Yang, Blake go for it." Whispered Ruby.

Yang activated her semblance and leaped over the catwalk railing.

"HEY!" She shouted.

Mercury and Emerald looked up. Mercury had to dodge out of the way before he got crushed.

"Why hello there Blondie. Funny seeing you here." Said Mercury.

"Well I owed you for the Vytal Tournament." Responded Yang. She shot forward and attacked mercury, but he blocked it with his leg. Yang and Mercury started fighting in earnest. Yang threw a punch with her new robotic arm. When Mercury blocked it, he chuckled a little bit.

"Awe, Look at that. We match now." He said. He tried to sweep kick Yang, but she blocked it.

Meanwhile Emerald had recovered from her immediate shock. She was still confused, how did Yang find them? Was she here alone? But she couldn't focus on that right now. She drew her weapons and began sneaking up behind Yang. She was about to strike when she heard a gunshot. A ribbon suddenly wrapped around her ankle. And pulled her back. She found herself staring up into the angry face of Blake.

"Hi." Is all Blake said before slashing down at Emerald. Emerald rolled out of the way and untangled her ankle from the ribbon.

Emerald attacked Blake. The two were fighting with such speed. It would've been near impossible to visually track their movements.

A couple white fang soldiers can running into the room. They had been alerted by the gunfire. One of them ran and pulled an old fire alarm on the wall. Apparently this building was in good repair, because the alarm went off. The Faunus didn't even have time to draw his weapon before Weiss shot down from the catwalk and knocked him out. The other Faunus tried to fight, but was shot by Ruby, who used a gravity dust bullet to pin him to the ground.

Suddenly Adam, and Neo came bursting through the door. When Adam saw Blake, his eyes widened. He didn't have time to act, however, before wave 2 arrived. Nora came smashing through the ceiling (as she does). She landed and was swiftly followed by Ren, Jaune and Hopper. As well as a group of Atlesian soldiers.

"Perfect timing Jaune!" Shouted Ruby.

Adam immediately attacked, followed by a group of White Fang soldiers who had followed him. It became chaos. Ren was fighting Neo, Ruby had jumped down from the catwalk to aid Jaune and Hopper who were battling Adam. Nora was leading the charge against the White Fang.

Cinder came into the room followed by Alizarin and Amaranth. She surveyed the scene in front of her.

"Can your creatures do something about this?" She asked.

"We can only release one or two at a time. If we release too many, they might rampage across the kingdom." Responded Alizarin.

"Go get three of them."

Alizarin and Amaranth left intending on returning with some of their creatures. Cinder herself activated her fall maiden powers and leapt into the fray.

Adam was very powerful. Both Ruby and Jaune were struggling. Jaune attacked and Ruby got some space. She pressed the button to signal wave 3 and then went back to attacking.

*****

Oren was already prepping for wave three. When the signal came through, all his group were already on their ship.

"That's our cue, move out! Full speed" Shouted Grey.

"Remember folks, as far as we can tell these people are trying to commit genocide. Don't pull any punches, they don't deserve your mercy." Shouted Oren.

The last thing Oren saw before the doors closed, was Ironwood saluting.

It wasn't easy. Ruby could see it, they were struggling. None of their styles were really a good counter to Adam and none of them were powerful enough to take on Cinder. Cinder was blasting her way through Atlesian soldiers in an attempt to get to Ruby. Cinder was afraid of Ruby's silver eyes (a power that she had not yet mastered.) But she was being delayed by Hopper who was holding his own quite well. Jaune and Blake had switched opponents, Blake was the only one there familiar with Adams style at all. Jaune was doing his best against Emerald but his weapons weren't suited to fight against her style. Suddenly Ruby heard an inhuman howling. Three of those Grimm Hybrid creatures came bounding into the room. Nora moved to battle one while Ruby took another. the third one began fighting its way through the soldiers.

They were holding their own, wave 3 would be there soon. It might not have been perfect, but they were doing OK. Until Adam saw Weiss.

"SCHNEE!" He shouted, and immediately began sprinting towards her. Blake tried to intercept him but was cut off by Neo.

"Get out of my way!" Shouted Blake.

Neo just smiled and attacked.

Weiss saw him coming and prepared herself. Luckily Weiss was fast. She kept up a strong defense against Adam. However, Adam was still more powerful, and landed strike after strike until energy crackled around her. Her aura had depleted. Adam knocked her to the ground.

"Weiss!" Shouted Ruby. None of them could get to Weiss, they were all being attacked and detained by their enemies.

Adam raised his sword for the final blow. Suddenly there was a loud boom as something fell through the hole in the ceiling. Adam slashed down, but a streak of orange carried Weiss out of the way of his strike.

The energy of the battle had changed. The fighting stopped as this newcomer stole their attention.

When the dust cleared Oren was standing over Weiss.

"Don't let anyone ever tell you that I don't keep my promises." He said.

He took off his jacket and examined it. There was a slash mark in the back of it. Apparently he had been just in range enough for his jacket to get cut when Adam made his strike. He turned to Adam holding up the jacket so he could see the cut.

"I like this jacket,". He said taking off his shirt and revealing his dust tattoos, " your gonna pay for that."


	23. Chapter 23

"YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD." Shouted Amaranth, who had returned with Alizarin.

"You know, you shouldn't believe everything you read on the internet". Said Oren sarcastically.

Adam backed off, and each side used the momentary break in the fighting to regroup. Helen and Grey jumped down to join Oren.

"If your aura is low or depleted, stay back and leave it to the reinforcements, as best you can." Said Grey.

"Well you seem confident in your abilities." Said Alizarin.

"You'll see those abilities firsthand soon enough." Replied Helen.

"I have the powers of the fall maiden. The prodigy warrior Pyrrha Nikos and even the great Ozpin, both fell to me. What could you hope to achieve against my power?" Said Cinder.

"If there is one thing I can't stand its arrogance,". Said Oren, "I love knocking people like you down a peg."

Grey turned his weapon into Punt gun form. Oren heard a voice in his head.

"What do we wanna do about those creatures? they used to be human after all." Asked Grey.

"They aren't human anymore. And we don't exactly have many options for group therapy right now." Replied Oren.

"Alright, in that case I'll give them a whiff of grapeshot."

Grey's gun went off. It was so loud it sounded like an eruption. Thousands of pellets shot out of his gun showering the enemy. The pellets were made of various types of dust, which caused a great many different effects. Some of the White Fang burst into flame, some froze on the spot, some launched up to the ceiling and fell back down again. Then the enemy attacked. Grey quickly reloaded his gun with a slug bullet. Both the Grimm hybrid creatures were going towards him.

He shot his gun again and put a gaping hole right in the chest of one of the hybrids. The other two leapt at him, but he switched his weapon into Bardiche mode. He blocked the strike with his blade and began engaging the creatures.

Adam charged to try and break through the line, but he was cut off by Helen. He swung, but she slid under it, soon both her hands were placed on his heart.

"Normally I make my own weapons, but you've got plenty of anger I can use against you." She said. She started pulling this glowing red energy out of Adam's chest. He screamed in pain and swung again. She back flipped over his swing and began shaping the red energy she had taken. Soon she was holding a katana of her own. This time when he attacked, she deflected it with her new weapon. Adam was surprised when it made physical contact. He snarled when he realized she wasn't going to let him pass.

Emerald and Mercury began moving to attack Oren. Mercury tripped and when Emerald turned to see what happened she saw a creature rising out of Mercury's shadow. She was about to aide him when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and was met with a fist. She jumped back. Standing before her was Samuel Rust. She didn't have time to comprehend where he came from before he attacked again. This time he used his machete.

Neo had her own problems. A plume of smoke flew down through the roof and surrounded her. She was trapped in a small smoke tornado. She saw a form start to emerge. Thane leapt out of the smoke and attacked.

Oren went straight for Cinder. He activated his earth dust to give his arms a coating of earth armor. He propelled himself forward, but she dodged out of the way of his punch. His shock-wave created a crater in the wall behind where she was.

"You seem like a worthy opponent." Said Oren.

"More than a match for you." Replied Cinder.

"So far you have been challenged by naught but first year students. Even Pyrrha was only a first year. Allow me to show you the gap between a freshman and a senior."

Cinder threw a fireball at him, but he used his ice dust to dispel it. It created a thick mist. Cinder created her bow, and began firing arrows at Oren. He used his stone covered arm as a shield to block. She created her blades and leapt at him. He was ready for her. They began a deadly fast paced combat. Oren using earth dust to shield himself and ice dust to negate her fire. They were elegant, almost like they were dancing.

The fighting between the Soldiers and the White Fang resumed. Even though she had no aura left, Weiss was still fighting, though Ruby refused to leave her side.

"Load as much of the cargo as you can! Get ready to retreat." Shouted Cinder.

Alizarin and Amaranth, along with some White Fang, disappeared into a different room.

"Oh no you don't!" Shouted Hopper. Who began running towards the door. Cinder tried to fire blast him, but he ducked under. Emerald swung her weapon at him but he jumped over it. He charged through the door.

"Message from Hopper." Said Grey telepathically, "I'll delay them."

"As long as he doesn't die, I don't see any problem." Responded Oren.

*****

Hopper ran into the room to find Alizarin and Amaranth ordering the White Fang around. They were loading cages of those Grimm human hybrids into an airship. He was about to attack when Amaranth saw him. She opened two of the cages, pointed at Hopper and said,

"Sick em."

The creatures began charging at Hopper, one on two legs, one on all fours.

"Ooh, this should be fun." Said Hopper.

The one on two legs tried to leap on Hopper, but he blocked it with his staff. The other one tried to use the opening to go for Hoppers legs. Hopper jumped and swung his staff (which still had the first creature gripping it), he smashed the creatures into each other. They rolled a little ways before getting back to their feet and assuming a battle stance.

"Apparently they understand teamwork. This should be more interesting than I thought." Hopper said to himself.

The creatures started circling around him. Hopper was no fool, he saw what they were doing. One would attack and try to force him to use his weapon.

The second would attack his body when he was vulnerable.

Sure enough, one charged his right side. He brought his weapon to meet the creature who grabbed it and started trying to wrestle it out of his hands.

The second one charged at his back. Hopper twisted his body slightly, and kicked his heel into the creature's jaw. He then brought his foot down over the creature's head in a powerful axe kick. He turned to the creature grabbing his weapon and used his plague doctor mask to... well peck it. He pecked the creature in the forehead and the creature reeled back in pain (hopper had the tip of his mask affixed with a sharp metal point.). He kicked the creature in the gut, to get it to back off. He was aware of Alizarin's shouting.

"Only load the fully trained specimens, we don't have time to get them all." She said.

Hopper took the brief moment of respite to look around the room as much as he could. There were cages all over the places. Most of them had those Grimm hybrid creatures. A lot of them also had scared looking people (probably the victims of the experiments). They were leaving the scared people in favor of loading the fully trained hybrids.

He stabbed the butt of his staff behind him, into the stomach of one of the hybrids that was trying to sneak up on him. He spun a full 180 degrees, swinging his staff into the jaw of the beast. A shadow covered him. Without thinking he rolled forward as the second creature kept down onto the spot he was just standing in. As he got back up from his roll, he turned and swung his staff. He hit the underside of the creature's chin. The creature fell on its back and Hopper stabbed it through the chest with the butt of his staff. He was about to turn his attention to the other one, when Mercury came flying through the door. Oren was standing in the doorway.

"That's what you get you sarcastic little shit!" He shouted before leaping towards Mercury again. It wasn't long before the utter chaos in the previous room, moved to this room.

"Begin the evacuation!" Shouted Cinder. A lot of the White Fang broke off to start frantically loading cages. some of the full ships began taking off.

In another part of the room, Grey had somehow wound up fighting Adam. Adam definitely had the advantage. Grey's heavy style couldn't match Adams speed. Oren saw this and began fighting his way towards them. The three surviving hybrids, decided to try and get in his way. The first punched at him, but he caught its wrist and swung it over his head. He smashed it into the floor and stomped down on its neck, breaking it. The other two attacked at once. At the same moment Oren saw the telltale glow of Grey's aura running out. Oren caught one creature by the neck as it leapt at him. It clawed against his grasp but could do nothing to escape. Oren ripped a bone spike off the creature and stabbed it into the side of the second creature's head. It dropped to the floor dead. Oren used his semblance and punched right through the chest of the creature in his grip. He threw it to the side just in time to see Adam's sword, coming out of a strike against Grey, with a long arc of blood trailing off of it.

In a rage Oren activated his semblance. Letting out an inhuman roar he leapt at Adam. Adam looked over and saw Oren soaring in his direction, he leapt as far away as he could. When Oren landed it created a storm cloud of dust and dirt. He was clutching Grey in his hands. He had a huge gash across his chest. Oren felt for a pulse, there was none. Grey was dead.


	24. Chapter 24

Something was wrong, like really wrong. Helen could feel it. Mercury kicked at her, but she used her katana to deflect his leg upwards and kicked him in the groin. He reeled back in pain and Helen immediately ran towards the bad feelings. She could see a small crater in the floor, surrounded by dust and debris. she couldn't see anything inside, but it seemed to be the source of the feelings. She saw Adam looking at the cloud, his blade drawn in apprehension. she ran into the cloud of debris.

She found Oren sitting on his knees clutching...something. She gasped and put her hand to her mouth when she saw that it was Grey.

"...Oren?" She said cautiously.

"He's... Dead" he responded. tears started spilling down Helen's face. But she couldn't think of that right now.

"Oren, Come on. This isn't the time or place to grieve." she managed to force out. She circled around, Oren so she could see his face. His eyes were hidden behind his sunglasses so she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Violet still needs to know... Someone has to tell her." he said.

"Ya, we'll tell her. but i need you to focus now OK?" She said. Oren remained silent. By now the dust and debris had cleared. Adam was laughing at them.

"See how fate sides with me, proving that my cause is just." He shouted.

Helen looked around, everyone was still fighting except Adam, who was gloating, and the Doctors Alizarin and Amaranth were looking at Oren with what could only be described as pure terror. The Grimm hybrids were all staring directly at Oren.

"CINDER. WE NEED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!" Amaranth shouted.

"Just as soon as we finish loading the cargo!" Responded Cinder.

At this point every single fully trained Grimm hybrid was causing a ruckus. They were banging on their cages and making guttural noises that sounded like laughter. Alizarin and Amaranth grew pale, they knew what was happening, they had seen it before.

"NO YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, IF WE DON'T LEAVE RIGHT NOW, WE ARE IN HUGE TROUBLE. WERE GONNA START HAVING A BODY-COUNT IF WE DON'T GO." shouted Alizarin.

"Why should we leave?! We are clearly winning you're right, there will be a body count but for them, not us. I must say, considering how much you guys were bragging, he was really disappointing." said Adam.

"DON'T GOAD HIM YOU IDIOT!" shout Alizarin.

"Why do you cower from these weaklings!? We should leave them all dead here. I killed that human, I'll kill his team, and i'll kill the Schnee. today will be a massive blow for the freedom of my people!"

"Freeeeeeeedom?" Said Oren. his voice sounded different. it was higher pitched and guttural. it spoke with an accent that normally wasn't present. The mood in the room changed drastically. instantly all the fighting stopped, as everyone turned their attention to Oren. The way he spoke was so dark and menacing that it felt like the temperature in the room was dropping.

"Freedom?" Oren repeated, "Freedom. a funny word coming from you." All the Grimm hybrids began roaring, almost as if they were cheering. Oren had his eyes closed, and was staring directly at Adam as he spoke. He had an eerie smile on his face.

"What are you talking about!?" shouted Adam.

"Well, it just seems that you've never known true bondage, so how can you know what freedom is?"

"I've known more bondage than you could possibly ever hope to know."

"Oh I doubt that. You'll never know what its like to live in a cage. Even when you think you've found freedom, to continue to be locked away for an additional ten years. so 13 total years for me. But then again i shouldn't be surprised that you wouldn't know true bondage. Your last name is Taurus so that means everything coming out of your mouth must be bullshit." Oren said, before laughing hysterically at his own joke. He sounded eerie, like a hyenas laughter. 

Adam charged and swung his katana right at Oren's head. He was astonished when Oren "caught" it. Both of Oren's arms were still clutching Grey, Oren had caught the Katana with his teeth. Oren's glasses fell off revealing his eyes, and they were no longer green. They were pure black, with small glowing red pupils. Oren clenched his jaw and snapped the tip of the katana off. A small fireball exploded when the blade snapped, and when Oren pulled away he still had the snapped blade in his mouth.

For the first time in a long time Adam felt fear, he pushed a button on his sword and the broken blade fell off. he placed his hilt back into its scabbard and replaced the blade with a different one.

Oren took the piece of blade out of his mouth and examined it, still kind of giggling a little bit.

"You'll have to forgive me, i'm not usually so jovial." he said "But Oren so rarely lets me have this kind of control. In fact the first and only time i ever got this kind of... freedom... was ten years ago."

Helen was paying attention, one thing she learned during interrogations was that syntax and word choice were very important. she may not have understood it, but she did notice that the thing speaking, was implying that it wasn't Oren. No one else noticed, they were all too shocked to be paying attention.

"Oh this will be so much fun. ten years of imprisonment and Oren allows me to return in the midst of a great battle, and with a maiden no less." Continued Oren.

"What would you know of the maidens?" asked Cinder.

"I know everything that Oren knows." scoffed the creature as if that should be obvious, "Besides it would be arrogant of you to assume that you're the only one in this room with fairy tale powers. Though i must admit, i have very little memory of my past before meeting the 'good doctors' over there, one could say its almost nonexistent.

"What are you?" asked Adam nervously.

Oren snapped his head in Adams direction.

"I almost forgot about you," Oren said, "Oh dear, i'm a bit conflicted. You are the reason Oren let me out, and for that I am truly grateful. However Oren really does not like you. Unfortunately for you Oren is the boss-man here, gotta follow his orders."

Oren started sprouting bone out of his hands. Bone plates grew over his hands and bone claws started growing out of his finger, each as long as a dagger. Oren used his semblance to catapult the broken blade right at Adams face, and shot himself forward towards Adam at speeds even his own team was astonished by. Adam barely managed to get his sword up in time to block the blade. Suddenly Oren's long bony claws were wrapped around Adams katana. Oren leaned in real close to Adams face.

"I'M GOING TO ENJOY STRIPPING THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES!" Oren shouted. Oren began unleashing an endless barrage of attacks. Adam was holding his own, but Oren was relentless. His speed and strength seemed to have dramatically increased. Adam could only take this punishment for so long.

"A little help would be nice!" he shouted.

Mercury charged and kicked Oren in the gut. Oren flew backwards and was instantly set upon by all the White Fang who weren't loading the ships. Oren grew a large round bone plate out of his left forearm to use as a shield and he attacked. The White Fang who charged him with swords stood no chance, he snapped their weapons and hurled many of them across the room. Whatever bullets he couldn't deflect with his claws, he blocked with his shield. Oren began growing spikes out of his right arm, and using his semblance, flung them at his enemies. Even with their auras absorbing most of the damage, they still felt the impact of his throws. Some of Oren's attacks were already depleting the auras of the less strong White Fang members. At some point three White Fang jumped on Oren's back. Oren grew a spikes out of his back, flinging them all away. Oren bumped both his fists together, activating his semblance, he slammed both his fists into the ground. he created a small earth quake that rippled through the floor. anyone near Oren was knocked to the ground.

"These mosquitoes are beginning to annoy me. i'm getting a little pissy now." growled Oren.

Oren did what could only be described as shedding. All his bone weapons, claws, spikes, shield, fell off his body. Oren began growing new bones to replace them. He grew ribs over his chest and a spine over his back. He grew a skull over his head, and by the time he was done it looked like he was wearing a human skeleton as armor.

Again he leaped towards Adam. Adam blocked, but this time he was not alone. Mercury and Emerald were also there. Emerald used her chains to wrap around one of Oren's arms. Mercury went for a roundhouse at Oren's head. Oren used his free hand to deflect Mercury's leg up. Oren raised his leg and axe kicked Mercury in the chest. Mercury hit the ground so hard that he bounced. Meanwhile he also pulled the chain around his arm and Emerald came flying towards him. Oren rammed his elbow into her face. Mercury was still in the air from his bounce off the ground, so Oren kicked him in the gut with his semblance. Mercury went flying across the room. Oren used the same leg to kick Emerald in the stomach. She also went flying, but she caught herself with the chain, that was still around Oren's arm. Adam began charging Oren, so Oren swung the chain. He smashed Emerald into the legs of Adam, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.

Oren stepped on part of the chain and yanked hard. the chain snapped and Oren was no longer connected to Emerald. Oren picked up Adam an held him against a wall. Oren was holding his chest with one hand and his hair with the other.

"Unfortunately for you, you're at the top of my list right now." Oren growled. Oren felt through Adams hair until he found what he was looking for. A pair of horns donned the top of Adams head. Oren grabbed one of them and smiled. He snapped the horn off and Adam screamed in pain.

"I think I'll keep this as a trophy". Said Oren. Suddenly a large fireball blasted into Oren side. Oren released Adam and went flying off through a wall which crumbled on top of him and set fire to the immediate area.

"Alizarin, Amaranth! What is going on here?!" Shouted Cinder who had shot the fireball.

"Come on, we need to leave before he comes back!" Responded Amaranth.

"What are you talking about?! Cinder just killed him!". Said Adam.

"I guarantee that he's not dead, we need to leave." Said Alizarin.

"OK that does it!" They all heard Oren's voice from the rubble. Oren arose, pushing a slab of concrete off of himself. All they could see was his silhouette against the flames. He began walking out of the smoke and it looked like the entire right side of his body had been burned and charred. Then they saw the blackness spreading across his skin. They realized he wasn't burned, he was growing a layer of thick black fur under his bone armor.

"Now I'm angry!" Said Oren. For the first time in this entire fight, he wasn't smiling and instead wore and angry scowl on his face.

"There are so many of you, your like an irritating swarm of bees. I guess I need to reduce your numbers a little."

Neo came charging at him and leapt up to strike his head. He pushed her weapon aside and caught her by the neck. Using his semblance he smashed her into the ground three times until her aura had depleted. Neo was struggling with all her might but she couldn't break his grip. Oren lifted her face right up to his.

"FUCK OFF!" He yelled, then he hurled her across the room. She slammed into a wall near the airships, and sank to the floor unconscious.

"Retreat. Retreat!" Shouted Cinder. The White Fang began to flee aboard the ships, one picked up Neo and carried her into one of the ships.

Adam tried to stand his ground, but Cinder shouted "You're aura is depleted Adam, if you stay he will kill you, get on the ship."

Adam felt the spot where his horn used to be. He growled and ran towards the ship. Only Emerald Mercury and Cinder remained to cover the retreat. They all attacked at once. Cinder launched a fireball while Emerald and Mercury circled around to attack from the sides. Oren blocked the fireball with two bone shields on his forearms. Emerald attacked from his right, she swung her chain in a downward arc at him. He side stepped and swung down at the chain as it passed him. He pinned it to the floor with one of his bone shields. He shed his shield off and left it there. Mercury jumped and did a roundhouse kick, Oren blocked it with his second shield. He grabbed Mercury's leg and slammed him into the ground. He slammed the shield into Mercury's face several times. Mercury glowed, signaling the fading of his aura.

"Uh oh." Is all Mercury said. Oren began growing his bone claws out again. Cinder launched a fireball at Oren which caused him to stagger backwards. He yelled in rage and grew a large amount of bone spikes in his arm, and shot them all at Cinder. She covered her face with her arms as the barrage knocked her to the floor. Mercury was trying to crawl away, but Oren saw him.

"Where are YOU going?" he shouted, and swung down his claws into one of Mercury's mechanical legs. Mercury screamed in agony as Oren slowly pulled back, ripping his leg in half. Suddenly a giant metal arm smacked Oren off of mercury and across the room. An Atlesian Paladin, probably a leftover from the fall of beacon, was attacking Oren. Emerald helped up Mercury and retreated towards the ship, along with Cinder. Oren stood, a look of anger on his face and looked on in disgust as the ships took flight. He wasn't about to let them get away. He had to deal with this paladin in front of him first though. He began growing some new bone weaponry.


	25. Chapter 25

They couldn't leave fast enough. Alizarin and Amaranth knew perfectly well what Oren was capable of, and it would not be pleasant to stick around. They had left so fast that they hadn't closed the loading ramp to the ship. That was fine, in fact Alizarin wanted it open, so she could watch to see if Oren was giving chase. They were above the warehouse now. Suddenly something launched out of the roof leaving a hole. Alizarin caught a brief glimpse of it, it appeared to be the paladin they left behind... but only the top half of it. Suddenly the roof started cracking and the whole thing caved in, sending up a massive cloud of dust. She saw the huntsmen and soldiers evacuating the building.

"What's going on?" Asked an approaching Amaranth.

"I'm not sure yet." Responded Alizarin.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"I saw something!"

Alizarin squinted and could swear for a brief moment she saw a face in the dust cloud. Suddenly a huge skeletal hand reached out and grabbed the ship next to theirs. The hand smashed it down to the earth. Then the skeletons face emerged from the dust and looked right at Alizarin.

"Close the loading ramp!" Shout Alizarin. It was too late , the skeleton smacked the ship sending it flying off course. Whoever was piloting would surely get a promotion, because they managed to recover before they crashed. But not before Alizarin fell out of the open loading ramp. The last thing she saw as she was falling was Amaranths grief stricken face.

Alizarin landed hard near a tree, she was alive, but one of her legs was broken. She looked up and was relieved to see the rest of the ships escaping. At least Amaranth would be OK. Now all Alizarin could do was wait for the inevitable as the face of the giant skeleton stared right at her. And she heard an enraged roar.

*****

Oren saw the remaining two or three ships flying off in the distance, and let out a roar of anguish that his prey eluded him. He had grown giant bones out of his body until he resembled a giant skeleton. His body wasn't completely covered, his head and torso were protruding from the from of the skeletons spine, but still behind the rib cage. He didn't miss the figure falling from the ship, he turned his head to see where the person had landed. The skeleton turned his head with him. Laying against a tree he saw none other than Alizarin. He shed himself out of the giant skeleton which froze in place and started disintegrating. He landed on the ground and began slowly walking toward Alizarin.

He started growing a single long bone out of his spine. He grabbed it and casually pulled it over his shoulder. As the bone swung it was creating a long curved blade. When Oren finished pulling his weapon over his shoulder, he was holding a bone scythe. He used his shock-waves to propel himself forward, running at a speed that normally beyond the limits of a normal human. He swung his bone scythe right for Alizarin's neck. Alizarin closed her eyes and braced herself.

"OREN!" Shouted a voice. Oren stopped, his blade a mere inch from Alizarin's neck. The residual shock-wave from the speed he was running created a large gust of wind that blew through the trees behind Alizarin.

"...ah...yes... I nearly forgot. Oren would be quite upset if I broke that one promise." He looked over at Helen, who had shouted Oren's name. "Thank you for reminding me. ". He looked back at Alizarin. "I will spare you."

Oren began walking towards Helen and motioned for her to come closer.

"Who are you?" Asked Helen trembling.

"Unfortunately I am on a time crunch, I will... ware off in just a little bit, so I don't have time for questions. I need to say a couple things while I still have control."

"...OK"

"First of all, regardless of what you may think, I am completely on Oren's side. And make sure to tell him that when he wakes up. Second,". He pulled Helen closer so only she could hear, "you and I both know that Oren isn't the best at dealing with his emotions. He's been bottling for ten years until just now, his greatest fear has been realized. I'm worried that when he wakes up he may do something stupid... if you understand me."

"...he wouldn't."

"He's worse than you think. He denies an entire part of his existence and refuses to face his past."

"But... he never.. he seemed so..." Helen was having trouble formulating a complete thought.

"Lastly, his condition is going to be critical when he comes back. He refuses to try and train himself to withstand my power, as a result his body can't handle the transformation as much as it should. Tell him to train to control my power so that he stops almost dying every time he uses me."

Helen tried to sense any sort of malice or deception coming from the creature inhabiting Oren. But she couldn't, she could only sense worry and regret.

"Why do you care about him so much?" She asked. But it was too late, black smoke began billowing off of Oren as his black fur and bone armor began to dissolve. He collapsed to his knees and fell forward on to his face.

Soldiers immediately ran forward and grabbed Alizarin and began escorting her away. Helen glared at her. She knew Alizarin was responsible for Oren's condition. Suddenly she felt a hand grab her ankle she looked down and saw Oren. Tears streaming down his face.

"Please... don't leave me...". He managed to choke out. His walls had come down, and now Helen could feel everything. It was the most pure fear she had ever felt with her semblance. Oren fell unconscious.


	26. Chapter 26

Oren awoke. He recognized where he was, he was in his room at Taiyang's house. He didn't understand how he got all the way to Patch. Half of his entire body was covered completely by bandages.

"You know, we've got to stop meeting like this." Said a voice. Oren turned and saw Hopper reading a book. "You put on quite a show."

"Where is my team." Oren asked, deadpan.

"They are out. It would seem the Atlas council wants to hold you for study or execute you. Like I said you put on quite a show. Your team is trying to talk sense into them, along with Ironwood , Qrow and Glynda. Right after you passed out your team grabbed you and came back to patch as fast as they could."

Oren simply turned his head back over towards the window.

"After you passed out, the remaining white fang surrendered. We arrested them and Alizarin. We even managed to save all those people in the cages. Who hadn't turned fully yet."

"What about the other teams?" Asked Oren with a heavy sigh.

"SSSN went back to Haven except for Sun. JNR and CFVY are still around vale, trying to help where they can. RWBY split up."

"Again? Didn't I just get them back together?"

"Weiss's father refused to let her leave the kingdom. He even threatened the rest of RWBY. Weiss agreed to stay to protect them."

"And Ruby was OK with this?"

"Of course not, but apparently Weiss said something to Ruby to get her to accept it. There is little doubt in my mind that she has ulterior motives for staying. Blake said she had to take care of something at home, before she would be ready to continue. She went to menagerie with Sun. Ruby and Yang are still on patch, they couldn't bear to leave you in this condition."

"I see...how long have I been asleep?"

"Five days."

"Any idea how long my team will be gone?"

"No idea, couple days maybe."

Oren started standing up.

"Hey you should really rest up. You took quite a beating"

"I wasted five days sleeping. I could be doing much more productive things."

"Like what?" Said hopper starting to get suspicious

"Wanna help? I need to add Grey to the garden."

"What do you mean?"

"Just go into town and bring back the biggest block of marble you can find."

Hopper cocked his head and, reluctantly got up and walked out of the room. Oren managed to stand. He limped his way to the statue garden. He looked at the faces of the fallen.

"Are you alright?" Asked the voice.

"It annoys me when you ask me questions that you already know the answer to." Replied Oren, rather harshly. The voice said nothing after that.

He heard a twig snap behind him, he turned and was dumbfounded when he saw Hopper carrying an enormous block of marble over shoulder. Clearly Hopper was stronger than he looked, Oren wondered what other secrets he was hiding.

"Oh that's what you meant by garden." Said Hopper. " you carved all these?"

"Yea...". Responded Oren.

"Well then I'll leave you to it."

Hopper turned and left.

Oren found his hammer and chisel and began to work. Oren stayed in that statue Garden all day and all night doing naught but carving. He finally finished just before noon the next day. He had made a beautiful statue that had three different depictions of Grey, standing back to back. One was Grey playing his bass guitar, one was him shooting his punt gun and one was him wielding his bardiche axe. Oren looked at it and said in a haunting voice,

"I'm finally done." He went over to the statue of Summer. "I'm sorry." He said.

He walked back to the house to grab a length of rope. He began walking towards a special lake. He loved training there when he was a kid. He climbed up a tall tree and tied the rope around a high hanging branch. He began tying a special knot at the other end.

"Are you really doing this!?" Asked the voice incredulously.

"There is no longer anything for me here." Responded Oren exhausted.

"Shouldn't you at least talk to your team first!?"

"Why would they want to continue to be friends with me? I'm not human anymore."

"You know that's not true!"

Oren was ignoring the voice now as he slipped the noose he had tied, around his neck. Oren stood up and prepared himself to jump.

"Hey." Said a voice.

Oren looked over and saw Taiyang. Arms crossed and leaning against a tree.

" what's all this?" Asked Tai.

"You do realize that you can't stop me. Even if you tried to force me, I could overpower you."

"I'm not gonna force you to live. You have to want to live or it doesn't matter. But my family raised you, I helped raise you. You at least owe it to me to try and convince you."

"Fine." Oren took the noose off and jumped down to Taiyang's level.

"First off, help me understand why?"

"You know why, I'm not human. I'm Grimm. You know my history, If I have to choose between death and going back to the dark lonely place in my heart... I'll take death."

"You really think your team would do that to you?"

"Huntsmen and huntresses exist to fight the Grimm, creatures like me. Even the Atlas council wants me locked up or dead, People don't like the Grimm."

"And your team is currently talking them out of it. Along with Qrow and Glynda and ironwood, people that you've impressed and Befriended."

"Before they knew what I was. So now on top of what I am, I've also been lying to them."

"You've been together for four years! That kind of bond is not easily broken, you and I both know that you're not the only one with baggage, especially in your team. Why are you being so selfish!?"

"Why not! I've spent my entire life looking after others, protecting my family and friends! Why can't I be selfish for one time in my life?!"

"Because this isn't just about you anymore! Think long and hard about everyone this will affect! How will Qrow feel? Your team? Me? Yang? Could you really hurt them like this? Could you really hurt Ruby like this!?"

Upon hearing Ruby's name, Oren's eyes widened. She was too sweet and kind and pure for this world, Oren had often thought. Was he really capable of hurting her in this way?

"People still love you Oren. You're not alone. The proof is that I'm here talking to you now. If you really wanna do this then go ahead and do it, right now in front of my face."

Oren looked back at the noose he had tied. Then he looked back at Tai's face.

"Do you remember the promise you made?" Asked Tai.

"To never kill another living creature."

"You count as a living creature Oren. If you do this then you would be breaking your promise."

Oren collapsed to his knees and ten years of bottling his emotions came bubbling up. He broke down and cried. Tai walked over, knelt down and hugged Oren while he sobbed. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Tai walked back Oren back to the house, to get some food and rest.


	27. Chapter 27

Oren was more terrified than he had ever been in his life. He was sitting in a room with Qrow, Taiyang, Ruby, Yang, and his team.

"I... don't know where to begin...". Said Oren.

"How about your parents." Said Tai gently.

Oren heaved a heavy sigh and began.

"I was born in Mountain Glenn. My parents were both huntsmen, they gave me this vest when I was little. We all know what happened to Mountain Glenn. My family just like everyone else, fled underground. My parents had started training me to fight and were doing their best to help everybody. When that tunnel collapsed revealing the subterranean Grimm, well, what they don't tell you is that an entire section of the city was cut off with no escape... it was a massacre. My parents both died that night. The only reason I escaped is because that's when I discovered my semblance. I was only 7. After weeks of running, and barely surviving In the jungle I discovered a group of people, they were armed. I though they were my rescue...I was wrong. They took me and locked me in a small dog cage. They performed experiments on me. Mostly blood transfusions. They had been forcing Grimm blood into my body in an attempt to make a grimm human hybrid. I was their first success. At the time I gained abilities similar to grimm, specifically the ability to sense negative emotions from people. Anger, sorrow, malice etc. there was a side effect to the Grimm being forced inside my body. It ripped my aura from me. It might've even taken my whole soul, I don't know, but it definitely took my aura. For the first week I had to be kept in a cage st all times because I was like a rabid animal. Losing my aura and fusing me with a Grimm made me... angry. Ever since my aura was stolen I've felt hollow and empty. Not many of their first subjects survived treatment, I was one of very very few. On the day of my rescue I discovered another ability that I had. A man and woman, both huntsmen, had discovered the laboratory where I was hidden. Mine was the first cage they stumbled upon. They decided to split up, the woman would try and escort me to safety while the man searched for any other trapped people. Unfortunately for them, Alizarin and Amaranth had planned for this eventuality and had hired mercenaries. A gang led by the warlord Oxblood. It was only a matter of time before we were discovered and the alarm sounded. The woman dealt with the goons easily enough but luck was not on our side. Oxblood himself found us. He and the huntress fought for what seemed like hours. Eventually he struck a fatal blow and as the huntress lay on the floor dying, I... lost my cool. Just the same as when Grey died, I flew into a rage and the Grimm inside me took control. I overpowered Oxblood. He was weakened from his fight with the huntress and I was propelled by sheer anger and desperation. I destroyed his aura and as he was slumped against the wall, I raised my bone scythe for the final blow when I heard a voice. ""Wait"" said the huntress dying on the floor. Her voice brought me out of my rage and back to reality. I walked over to her and held her in my arms. ""You're better the Grimm. You don't need to kill him."" She said. This simple phrase had a profound impact on me. ""Promise me you won't kill."" She said. ""I promise."" I said ""I promise to never kill any creature with a soul."" Unbeknownst to me, Alizarin and Amaranth had witness my fight with Oxblood on the security cameras. They triggered a self destruct program, designed to erase all evidence of their illegal research. Oxblood got up and ran from the building, I tried to drag the huntress outside, but she wouldn't let me. She sat up and removed her cloak, and gave it to me. ""You are young, and have a whole life ahead of you. Do not die for someone who has lived a full life."" She said. I took the cloak and ran, tears pouring from my eyes. The Huntsman found me later clutching her cloak and crying. That was always my biggest regret, she gave her life for me, and I couldn't even bring her body back. The Huntsman took me to Ozpin. After much discussion it was decided that the Huntsman who helped rescue me would... raise me since I had nowhere else to go. And I've been here ever since."

"The Huntsman raised you? So that means?" Started Ruby.

Oren looked straight into Ruby's eyes and said. "You're right, the Huntsman in my story is Qrow. Buckle up cause this is where it gets rough." Oren left the room for a moment, and came back with a white cloak. "The name of the Huntress in my story, was Summer Rose." He said somberly handing the cloak to Ruby.

" you all must have questions, but before we start all that, I'm going to leave you alone with your thoughts for a little bit. Qrow would you mind joining me?" Oren and Qrow got up and left the room.

*****

"This is my favorite local bar." Said Qrow as he and Oren walked into the Crow Bar.

"Hey Qrow! How's it going?" Asked the bartender.

"Could be better. Two of the usual and... Oren what do you want?"

"Just straight whiskey will be fine for me." Replied Oren.

"You gonna be OK?" Asked Qrow.

"I'll let you know when I figure that out."

"Why'd you want me to come with you?"

"Couple reasons. To assure the group that I wouldn't try to do something ""stupid"" again. Which I know Tai told you about."

Qrow nodded and took a long drink.

"And I had a question for you."

"Shoot."

"What happened to the people we rescued?"

"Hmm?"

"The ones from the hybrid lab, that hadn't fully turned yet."

"Oh well... the answer might piss you off."

"I'm always pissed off."

"The Atlas council had them locked in their government labs in an attempt to find a cure. They are under quarantine right now."

"What about the one that Grey and Helen brought back?"

"He's actually been downgraded to a lower security facility. He's made astonishing progress in his rehab. Calls himself Onyx now. Still can't remember his real name though."

"I need to talk to him."

"That'll be hard to do since your not allowed in Atlas."

"Then I need you to set me up a call with Ironwood, I need to talk to him as well."

"I can probably do that. Might I ask what do you plan to do now?"

"That depends on the outcome of my conversations."

Qrow had taken Oren to the CCT to make his phone calls. They got a private room, so that the calls wouldn't be monitored. Qrow called ironwood using his number.

"Qrow? This is an unexpected call, what's wrong?" Asked Ironwood when he answered.

"Nothings wrong James. I got Oren here and he wants to talk to you." Qrow moved and Oren took his place.

"Hello General." Said Oren.

"Hello Oren, glad to see you awake. What can I do for you today?"

"I just have a couple questions for you. I understand that the council has locked the people we rescued in quarantine and are experimenting on them in the hopes of finding a cure. Is this true?"

"Yes it is."

"Why?"

"They have been deemed unsafe to release into civilization. They must be cured before they can be reliably able to control themselves."

"Deemed by you?"

"By the council."

"Hmm. Is this call being monitored?"

"No. Why?"

"Listen to me carefully if you care for those people. I have some requests and a message that needs delivering."

*****

Oren arrived back at his home on patch late that night. His team was asleep in the living room. He was going up to his own room when he noticed one of the doors was opened. It was the door to Ruby's room. He peeked inside and noticed that her bed was messed up. There was no note, so she couldn't have run away again. Oren had the feeling he knew where she was.

He went outside back to the lake. Ruby was standing at the edge, staring at the tree where Oren had tried to hang himself. Tai must've told them, and Oren couldn't blame him. The rope was still hanging there.

"You alright?" Asked Oren, as he walked over to Ruby.

Ruby turned, startled. "Oh Oren! H-hi! I just couldn't sleep and decided to take a walk and..." she trailed off.

"Don't worry, I get not being able to sleep, in fact this lake provided me much tranquility for many nights." Said Oren. He walked out on to the short pier and took off his shoes and socks. He sat at the end of the pier and allowed his feet to dangle into the water. Ruby walked over and sat next to him.

"So I guess all those nightmares you had when you were a kid were because of the...". She trailed off again.

Oren had expected this, he was prepared to answer all the questions he would inevitably receive.

"Yes they were, and I still have them, I'm just so used to them that they don't carry any weight anymore."

"And that's why you were always training so hard? Because you were afraid?"

"Yes. I was afraid of them finding me, afraid of them getting to you and Yang, afraid of a lot of things."

They sat for a few moments in silence before Ruby asked.

"Hey Oren, what was mom like?"

"Incredible,". He replied, "she was an amazing fighter and so, so kind. From the first moment she set eyes on me in my little cage she felt nothing but sadness. I could feel her resolve to get me out of that place. She knew me for less than a day, I don't even think I ever told her my name, and for that small amount of time she loved me like one of her own children."

Oren turned and saw a tear slipping down Ruby's face, but she was smiling.

"You alright?" He asked.

"Ya.. ya I'm fine." She said wiping away her tears.

"Come on, let's get some sleep." He took her hand and they walked back to the house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So im faced with a bit of a problem. I wrote this when volume 3 had just finished...... so that was like 4 or 5 years ago. I can no longer remember where i wanted to go with this story. So im going to have to take a small hiatus while i figure out how i want the plot to proceed, but i do want to finish it.


End file.
